Several years ago PaperTigers arranged to have author Ann Martin Bowler conduct a school outreach session in California.  PaperTigers Outreach Coordinator Theresa Gee said of the session  “Annie was absolutely incredible presenting two of her books at a Sacramento elementary school which I attended in the 1960′s. It serves a very low income neighborhood with many South Asian immigrants, so the day we spent at the school together was a real treat for the students and teachers.”

Yesterday, Theresa alerted me to this upcoming event which features Ann. If you happen to be in the Roseville area, I’m sure it would be well worth attending!

Join us for the kick-off party of  “One World, Many Stories” Roseville Library’s Summer Reading Club.
Monday, June 13th, 5:30 p.m.
Downtown Roseville Library
225 Taylor St., Roseville, CA, USA
Call (916) 774-5221 for more information

Bring your children out for a lively, interactive telling of multicultural tales and a celebration of books and cultures and come meet author Ann Martin Bowler! Annie  will be kicking off  “One World, Many Stories” with an engaging, kid-friendly, presentation of her books, All About Korea: Stories, Songs, Crafts, and More, Gecko’s Complaint: A Balinese Folktale and Adventures of the Treasure Fleet: China Discovers the World.

Roseville Library’s summer reading program has a decidedly international flavor, with lots of fun events and activities for kids young and old. A full listing of events can be found here

To read PaperTigers’ recent review of Ann’s new book All About Korea: Stories, Songs, Crafts and More (Tuttle, 2011) click here.

When Gecko complains to Raden, the jungle’s chief and a lion, about the fireflies that are keeping him awake, he sets in motion a string of complaints as each culprit of one animal’s complaint blames his actions on another’s behaviour. Eventually Raden is brought face to face with Rain:

When he reached Mount Batur’s highest peak, Chief Raden roared loudly, “Rain, why are you ruining the jungle pathways and causing so many problems for the animals?”

While waiting for Rain’s reply, Chief Raden dropped to the ground in exhaustion. Looking out over Bali, he saw sparkling rivers, blue skies filled with drifting clouds and endless hills of green. Raindrops fell, cooling his tired body. [...]

Raden then understood he was asking a very foolish question.

He returns home and delivers a few home truths to the animals about remembering all that Rain provides, and tells them to stop complaining but learn to live “in peace with one another”. By being considerate to their fellow creatures and recognising that there is much to appreciate in their own lives, they do in fact find themselves with little to complain about.

Gecko’s Complaint/ Keluhan Sang Tokek, a Balinese folktale, retold by Ann Martin Bowler and sumptuously illustrated by Balinese artist I Gusti Made Sukanada (Periplus Editions) is available both in English and, as of this year, as a bilingual book with English and Indonesian text. It is definitely a fable whose meaning has bearing on the lives of us humans. Chief Raden is a respected authority figure who listens and is decisive and fair – a role model who will also be respected by young listeners of the story. At the same time, the narrative doesn’t fall into the trap of being didactic but provides plenty of room for characterisation and humor to come through. The vibrant illustrations are full of jungle wildlife and we love the vignettes of animals, birds and flowers scattered through the text. Perhaps it’s an unreasonable quibble, but if another edition is ever planned, it would be great to have an appendix saying what they all are; it would provide a good counterbalance to the introduction, which gives an interesting overview of Indonesia and Bali in particular.

Ann talks a little about writing the book in her interview with PaperTigers – and I have to say, I’d love to know more about what she describes as the “adventure” of working with I Gusti Made Sukanada to create the book. She has also written a song, Complaining, to accompany the book – it’s available on her website.

To read a little more about how Gecko’s Complaint fits into Indonesian folklore, read this review from the Bali Advertiser. Many cultures feature animal fables in their traditional story-telling – do you have any particular favorites that you’d recommend as a bedtime story?