The Hunter Who Was King and Other African Tales

Ambitious and clever paper engineering gives an added dimension here to three African folktales. In ``The Tug-of-War,'' a grove of pop-up palm trees keeps Elephant and Hippopotamus from realizing that they are competing against one another, and not--as each believes--against tricky Tortoise. Another particularly effective spread allows readers to peer through a hole in an ordinary-seeming hillock to catch a glimpse of the magical village discovered by the hero of ``The Hunter Who Was King.'' The following pages illustrate ( in three dimensions, of course ) the feast celebrating the intrepid hunter's marriage to the village's queen. In the volume's final tale, ``The Boy Who Sang to the Egg'' is rewarded for his labors when a herd of pop-up cattle bursts from the giant egg. The three brief fables are ably narrated by Bernette Ford, whose straightforward language retains the storyteller's cadences. Ages 4-8. (Jan.)