Why Mr. Bird Chose the Air: Sierra Leone Folktales

Have you ever wondered why the bird decided to fly, or why goats grew horns? These questions and more are what some Sierra Leonean folktales answer, especially to the very inquiring child.

Inspired by folktales originally written by his Grandfather, Thomas A.L. Decker, Akindele retells stories of his Grandpa Tommy, passed on from Akindele’s Great-Great Grandfather.

Growing up, his grandfather’s book of folktales was the first book Akindele ever owned. It was his introduction to a wide imagination of making sense of the world around him.

In “Why Mr. Bird Chose the Air”, Tommy’s Grandpa T.C., shares his story of Mr. Bird to his Grandchildren, Tommy and Talabi.

In a little town in Sierra Leone, called Murray Town, cousins Tommy and Talabi learn for the first time, why Mr. Bird chose the sky.