Ashley Bryan Bibliography

[Books by Bryan] [Books Illustrated by Bryan]

Books by Bryan

The Adventures of Aku : Or, How It Came About That We Shall Always See Okra the Cat Lying on a Velvet Cushion, While Okraman the Dog Sleeps Among the Ashes. Atheneum, 1976

When sent to retrieve their master's ring from Spider, Ananse, cat and dog prove their worth.

All Night, All Day - A Child's First Book of African-American Spirituals. Photos by David Manning Thomas. Atheneum, 1991. Ages 4-8

Twenty spirituals with simple arrangements by David Manning Thomas. Reviews available at Amazon Book Company

Ashley Bryan : Poems and Folktales. Audio Cassette ed. Audio Bookshelf, 1994.

Bryan performs two hours of poems and his most endearing folktales.

Ashley Bryan's ABC of African American Poetry : A Jean Karl Book. Edited by Ashley Bryan. 1st ed. Atheneum, 1997. Ages 4-8

Not an ABC book, but a collection of poems by African American poets. Reviews available at Amazon

Ashley Bryan's African Tales, Uh-Huh. 1st ed. Atheneum, 1998. Ages 9-12

A collection of fourteen African folktales

Beat the Story-Drum, Pum-Pum. Reprint ed. Aladdin, Paperbacks, 1987; Atheneum, 1980. Ages 9-12

Five traditional Nigerian tales

Beautiful Blackbird. 1st ed. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2003.

In a story of the Ila People, the colorful birds of Africa ask Blackbird, whom they think is the most beautiful of birds, to decorate them with some of his "blackening brew." African folklore. Zambia

The Cat's Purr. Atheneum, 1985.

How Cat got his purr by swallowing the cat drum.

The Cat's Purr, Why Frog and Snake Never Play Together, the Fire Bringer. pa. Houghton Mifflin, 1989. Ages 9-12

The Dancing Granny. Rep ed. Aladdin, 1987; 1st Aladdin ed, 1980; Atheneum, 1977.

Spider Ananse gets Granny started dancing so he can raid her garden, but his own trick does him in.

I'm Going to Sing.

Lion and the Ostrich Chicks : And Other African Folk Tales. Aladdin, 1996; Atheneum, 1986. Ages 4-8

Four folktales from African. Coretta Scott King Honor Book

The Night Has Ears : African Proverbs. Edited by Ashley Bryan. Atheneum, 1999.

A collection of 26 proverbs, some serious and some humorous

The Ox of the Wonderful Horns : And Other African Folktales. Reissue ed. Atheneum, 1993; Atheneum, 1971. Ages 4-8

Five traditional tales from Africa, inlcuding four animal tales. Reviews at Amazon

Sh-Ko and His Eight Wicked Brothers. Retold by Ashley Bryan; illustrated by Fumio Yoshimura. 1st ed. Atheneum, 1988.

Japanese fairy tale. When his handsome brothers set off to woo the beautiful Princess Yakami, ugly Sh-Ko must carry their bags but his luck changes after meeting a rabbit who lost his fur coat.

Sing to the Sun. Reissue ed. HarperTrophy, 1996; HarperCollins, 1992. All ages

Twenty-three original poems. Reviews at Amazon

The Story of Lighning & Thunder. Atheneum, 1993. Ages 4-8

Based on a Nigerian folktale. How Thunder and Lightning were banished to the heavens

Turtle Knows Your Name. Aladdin, 1993; Atheneum, 1989. Ages 4-8

A young village boy living in the Caribbean has a problem, his name is so long that no one can remember it. Reviews at Amazon

Walk Together Children.

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Books Illustrated by Bryan

Cooper, Susan. Jethro and the Jumbie. Illustrated by Ashley Bryan. Atheneum, 1979.

Angry at his brother for not taking him deep-sea fishing, Jethro stomps off, meets a jumbie and enlists its help in changing his brother's mind.

Dunbar, Paul Laurence. I Greet the Dawn : Poems. Atheneum, 1978.

A brief biography of the poet precedes a collection of his works, most in standard English rather than dialect with themese such as love and hate, etc.

Dunbar, Paul Laurence. Jump Back, Honey : Poems Selected and with introduction by Andrea Davis Pinkney. Illustrated by Ashley Bryan. New York: Jump at the Sun, 1999

An illustrated collection, including "A Boy's Summer Song," "The Sparrow," and "Little Brown Baby."

Evans, Mari. Jim Flying High. 1st ed. Doubleday, 1979.

A proud flying fish named Jim is rescued from a tree by Olukun, the Chief of Water.

Giovanni, Nikki. The Sun Is So Quiet : Poems. Henry Holt, 1996. Ages 4-8

Thirteen poems. Reviews at Amazon

Giovanni, Nikki. Aneesa Lee and the Weaver's Gift. Illustrated by Ashley Bryan. Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1999

Juvenile poetry; Poems describe Aneesa Lee's activities as she prepares materials for weaving.

Goss, Linda. It's Kwanzaa Time!. Illustrated by Ashley Bryan. With contributions by Clay Goss. Putnam, 1995. Ages 4-8

Some information on Kwanzaa; activities; seven stories which match the seven principles of Kwanzaa. Reviews available at Amazon

Hughes, Langston. Carol of the Brown King : Nativity Poems. Illustrated by Ashley Bryan. Atheneum, 1998. Ages 4-8

Six Christmas poems

Langstaff, John. Climbing Jacob's Ladder : Heroes of the Bible in African-American Spirituals. Illustrated by Ashley Bryan. Photographs by John Andrew Ross. Margaret McElderry, 1991. All ages

A selection of spirituals illustrated with paintings. Reviews available at Amazon

Langstaff, John, ed. What a Morning : The Christmas Story in Black Spirituals. Illustrated by Ashley Bryan. Little Simon, 1996. All ages

Five spirituals illustrated with paintings.

Myers, Walter Dean. The Story of the Three Kingdoms. Illustrated by Ashley Bryan. HarperCollins, 1995. Ages 4-8.

An original fable tells how people came to live peacefully with the animal world and its kingdoms. Illustrates power of storytelling in promoting understanding. Reviews at Amazon

Nye, Naomi Shihab, ed. Salting the Ocean: 100 Poems by Young Poets. 1st ed. New York: Greenwillow, 2000.

Paye, Won-Ldy and Lippert, Margaret H. Why Leopard Has Spots : Dan Stories from Liberia. Illustrated by Ashley Bryan. Fulcrum Pub., 1998. Ages 9-12

Vivid Anansi tales from African folklore. Reviews at Amazon

Rollins, Charlemae Hill, comp. Christmas Gif': An Anthology of Christmas Poems, Songs, and Stories. Illustrated by Ashley Bryan. William Morrow, 1993. All ages

Landmark anthology of stories, poems, songs, stories and recipes by and about African Americans. Review available at Amazon

Swann, Brian. The House With No Door : African Riddle-Poems. Illustrated by Ashely Bryan. 1st ed. Harcourt Brace, 1998. Ages 4-8

A collection of original poems created from African riddles.

Tagore, Rabindranath. Moon, For What Do You Wait? Selections by Richard Lewis. Illustrated by Ashley Bryan. Atheneum, 1967.

Poems selected from the author's "Stray Birds."

Weiss, George David and Thiele, Bob. What a Wonderful World. Illustrated by Ashley Bryan. Atheneum, 1995. All ages

Children put on a puppet show based on the song, "What a Wonderful World" made famous by Louis Armstrong.

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