Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales Audio CD – Unabridged, July 1, 2009

Not what I was expecting at all. Very unhappy, brutal, gory stories. Bought this for my extremely advanced reader who wanted to learn more about Africa. Thought Nelson Mandela would have a nice collection, but no. Definitely more suitable for older kids because of content. Would not have bought this if I had known.

The cover is the best picture from the whole book! Stories are good and from all over Africa, mention their origins which is great. I can't give 5 stars however because the illustrations inside are weird, sometimes just plain ugly. I mean really ugly, enough that I'm writing this comment! I really thought it would be beautiful kid-friendly art like on the cover.

Love that this collection exists but the square trim size is unwieldy and seems overly large. Beyond that the stories are a great addition to my library.

This is my family's favorite book. Packed full of excellent and interesting folk tales, it is the one I choose most often to read to classrooms, special groups or to my own children (3 and 7) at bedtime. We began with the companion CD of celebrity voices then wanted the entire collection. Countless classmate's parents have asked for the book's title after I read to the class. This book is a treasure and a very smart addition to any library. A few stories have death (an evil bird) or a fight (knocking a bully down) but it is all in context of excellent life lessons. I feel confident opening it to any page and reading to any child.

I have been reading these aloud at bedtime to my 8 year old twins and they both love them! Why? They are anything but predictable! I think they have come to expect happy endings or moral lessons, but these stories often have twists that surprise them. Not a lot of illustrations, but the ones they have are lovely and diverse. We have enjoyed looking at the map of Africa marked with flags of where the stories come from. Also have had the opportunity to talk about Nelsen Mandela and his story, which is new to them. Great all around book!

We've given the audio book and the book as gifts to a number of people, and they've raved about it. I haven't heard every one of the readings but the ones I've listened to are superbly done. Artists for a New South Africa (ANSA), which produced the three CD audio book, assembled a distinguished cast that included (among many others)Desmond Tutu, Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren, Samuel Jackson, Alan Rickman, Charlize Theron and Don Cheadle -- and had music composed and played by one of South Africa's leading musicians and sung by South Africa's best-known singer. The tales are collected from all over Africa, and they will interest adults as well as children. It's a wonderful present for Christmas or Hannukah or for a child's birthday. And, Hachette, the producer is giving the proceeds to ANSA and Nelson Mandela's Children's Fund which will use the money mainly to help AIDS orphans.

I was moved by the fund raising effort support for HIV AIDS orphans in South Africa, familiar and admiring of the story collection released some years ago, I was delighted to listen through the entire collection. The blend of music and voice, brilliantly realized by a host of talented talents "Artists for a New South Africa", brings these stories alive! Libraries (like mine) and individuals will appreciate each and every track in this 3 CD set that is up for Grammy nomination.

Stories are always a good thing. Diversity too. Hearing tales from other lands helps us to learn more about each other. I shared this set with my niece and two nephews ages 5 to 8 yrs old. They loved it too. Truthfully, the real reason why I made this purchase is because of Alan Rickman. He's one of my favorite actors/voices. I could find only one story read by him, but it was well worth it.

this is the 3 CD unabridged audio book, the audio production and interpretation skills are excellent - the audio is more perfect than the version of the 'conversations with myself' audio book.my only criticism is in the volumes:sometimes the volume of the reading voices are too low sometimes too high - you adjust it to one volume and then it's either too low or too high. the volume of some songs is too loud and again I found myself turning the volume down and then I had to put it up again to hear the continuation of the tale being told or the next story!the third CD also contains all the songs featured in the previously read tales and I wish that it also contained the whole English translation of all the songs, some of the stories are really beautiful even though we cannot see a moral lesson in all of them.I wish that even here in the UK people had or would learn from these tales in terms of courage, substance, kindness and foresight to go beyond the appearance - for example the story of the young man who eventually falls in love with the girl who had a spell cast on her and because of this she was dumb...this is one of the best audio books I have ever read - highly recommended.

I can easily understand why these were the great man's favourites. I can remember our Zulu house maid telling some of the stories to my children. As soon as she set up the ironing board they would sit on the floor in front of her and ask for stories!

Many years ago I had the privilege of meeting Madiba, so to be able to read these stories To my daughterof my African home land and as favourites of Madiba is extra special!

Lovely stories, weird and wonderful illustrations

I was looking after my grandkids while mum was in hospital and I put this cd on in the car one day when they were bickering in the back; there was instant silence as they listened with all their attention. Brilliant.