Overview
Oloyou the Cat, the very first creature that the God-child creates, is also the very first friend. God-child and Oloyou play together for hours on end, until one day the cat falls into the void and lands in the dark, featureless, sea kingdom of ferocious Okún Aró. Oloyou is terribly lonely until he meets Aró’s mermaid daughter and falls madly in love. Infuriated, the father flings the pair into the heavens, where they become an everlasting part of the night sky. This imaginative tale, sparked by the author’s mesmerizing text, is the perfect introduction to the vibrant Santería/Yoruba culture.
Synopsis
Oloyou the Cat, the very first creature that the God-child creates, is also the very first friend. God-child and Oloyou play together for hours on end, until one day the cat falls into the void and lands in the dark, featureless, sea kingdom of ferocious Okún Aró. Oloyou is terribly lonely until he meets Aró’s mermaid daughter and falls madly in love. Infuriated, the father flings the pair into the heavens, where they become an everlasting part of the night sky. This imaginative tale, sparked by the author’s mesmerizing text, is the perfect introduction to the vibrant Santería/Yoruba culture.
Children's Literature
In this English/Spanish retelling of a Yoruba myth, God is a lonely, bored child who blows life into a passing cloud and creates "Oloyou the Cat," his "first friend." But one day Oloyou falls from the firmament into the "depths of Nothing," home of Okun Aro, the "infinite Sea." Stranded in a coral house, Oloyou falls in love with the Sea's radiant daughter, Kandili. Although the angry Sea unleashes poisonous seaweed and other obstacles, the cloud cat and the ocean princess eventually fall into each other's arms and rise into the sky. As Kandili transforms into night, her hair fills the dark with stars. God hugs his friend and blows Oloyou back to his love as a comet. Cuban storyteller and dancer Teresa Cardenas describes these mysterious characters with lyrical images. Kandili, for instance, "moved as though in a dream, propelled by her handsome tail, which was studded with snails and starfish." Although young readers may not grasp the big picture of a pre-creation universe, details bring the story down to earth: Oloyou, for instance, never tired "of having its back rubbed." The canvas beneath adds texture to Mexican artist Margarita Sada's oil paintings, which also ground this surreal tale. They show a little brown God hugging his fuzzy white cat, brooding blue Sea whipping up whirlpools, and dark-skinned Kandili floating across the sky, shedding stars from her mermaid's body. Cardenas presents the tale "as is," without cultural context or explanation, so the adults who will be reading this story aloud should brace for questions the book may not help them answer. Reviewer: Sylvia Whitman
Editorials
Children's Literature -
In this English/Spanish retelling of a Yoruba myth, God is a lonely, bored child who blows life into a passing cloud and creates "Oloyou the Cat," his "first friend." But one day Oloyou falls from the firmament into the "depths of Nothing," home of Okun Aro, the "infinite Sea." Stranded in a coral house, Oloyou falls in love with the Sea's radiant daughter, Kandili. Although the angry Sea unleashes poisonous seaweed and other obstacles, the cloud cat and the ocean princess eventually fall into each other's arms and rise into the sky. As Kandili transforms into night, her hair fills the dark with stars. God hugs his friend and blows Oloyou back to his love as a comet. Cuban storyteller and dancer Teresa Cardenas describes these mysterious characters with lyrical images. Kandili, for instance, "moved as though in a dream, propelled by her handsome tail, which was studded with snails and starfish." Although young readers may not grasp the big picture of a pre-creation universe, details bring the story down to earth: Oloyou, for instance, never tired "of having its back rubbed." The canvas beneath adds texture to Mexican artist Margarita Sada's oil paintings, which also ground this surreal tale. They show a little brown God hugging his fuzzy white cat, brooding blue Sea whipping up whirlpools, and dark-skinned Kandili floating across the sky, shedding stars from her mermaid's body. Cardenas presents the tale "as is," without cultural context or explanation, so the adults who will be reading this story aloud should brace for questions the book may not help them answer. Reviewer: Sylvia WhitmanSchool Library Journal
Gr 1-5
In this striking bilingual retelling of a Yoruba myth, Oloyou the Cat is the very first creature created by the God-child while he is still too young to know what he is doing. More importantly, Oloyou becomes God's first friend. They are happy until Oloyou falls into Nothing, which is an oceanic kingdom presided over by Okun Aró. When Oloyou falls in love with Okun Aró's beautiful daughter, the sea king's anger inadvertently sends them back into the heavens, where the God-child is reunited with his friend and bestows upon him a precious gift. While readers may not know much about the Yoruba tradition, fans of mythology will recognize common elements: a sea god at odds with the heavens; a beautiful daughter who is the subject of forbidden love; preservation by placement among the stars. The clarity of the writing makes this book suitable for reading aloud, while the complexity of the story will hold the interest of older readers. The oil-on-canvas illustrations are rich and bold with a mythic scope that incorporates the story's African-Caribbean roots. The images dominate the pages, holding their own against the Spanish and English versions. This is an outstanding addition for both Spanish-language and folktale collections.-Kara Schaff Dean, Walpole Public Library, MA