Sleep Well, Siba & Saba by Nansubuga Nagadya Isdahl

But then the well-water dries up and the frog is forced to emerge into “the end of the world”ĭeciding to take a look around, he discovers all kinds of ‘end-of-the-world’ creatures, learns a few things and eventually becomes a very wise, wide world-loving frog ready to take the longest leap he’s ever made …įor, “ A foolish frog can be happy all alone at the bottom of a well, but a clever frog can be much happier out here.” For those who are unfamiliar with the story, it centres on a well-residing frog who leads a contented life thinking his well is the whole world “T he world is nothing but moss-covered rocks … with a pool of water at the bottom.” is what he tells himself. Now it’s been given a new lease of life by the New York Review. Isdahl’s sibilant text combines with stunningly beautiful scenes of the sisters both inside and outdoors in the African landscapes.Īn oldie but goodie: I think I may somewhere have a very old edition of this enchanting book from way back when I used to visit the USA fairly frequently. Such eloquence of words and pictures this simply sparkles with brilliance. The following day two very unexpected things happen: I expect you can guess what they are: rather than be a story-spoiler though I’ll just say that from that day forward, those sisters always set their sights firmly on the future and what it might bring … Sisters as close as these two share everything, so when they wake from their slumbers, Siba and Saba share their dreamtime sorties. One night though, their dreams are of things not lost – a silver shilling for Siba and a ‘stiffly starched school uniform’ for Saba.

Strangely though, they never manage to lose one another and when their papa had sung them to off sleep, “ Sula bulungi, Siba and Saba,”, the sisters would find their lost possessions in their dreams. Sisters, Siba and Saba are inveterate losers of things, be it sweaters – seven of them silver sandals ‘on sandy beaches at Ssese islands’ even their bedroom slippers go missing. Nansubuga Nagadya Isdahl and Sandra van Doorn

Sleep Well, Siba & Saba by Nansubuga Nagadya Isdahl