The Story of Lightning and Thunder

From Coretta Scott King Award winner Ashley Bryan comes a vibrant picture book retelling of a West African myth.

A long time ago—a very long time ago—Thunder and Lightning didn’t live in the sky. Uh-uh! They lived right in a village on the west coast of Alkebulan, called Africa today. Thunder was a mother sheep and impetuous Lightning was her son. How did they come to leave their home on Earth behind?

Ashley Bryan (1923–2022) grew up to the sound of his mother singing from morning to night, and he shared the joy of song with children. A beloved illustrator, he was named a Newbery Honoree for his picture book, Freedom Over Me. He also received the Coretta Scott King—Virginia Hamilton Lifetime Achievement Award, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, was a May Hill Arbuthnot lecturer, a Coretta Scott King Award winner, and the recipient of countless other awards and recognitions. His books include Freedom Over Me; Sail Away; Beautiful Blackbird; Beat the Story-Drum, Pum Pum; Let It Shine; Ashley Bryan’s Book of Puppets; and What a Wonderful World. He lived in Islesford, one of the Cranberry Isles off the coast of Maine.

ISBN: 9780689318368
Format: Hardback
Pages: 32
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Published: October 31, 1993