The Silence of The Hippo: African Folktales Told by Children

Poetic, somewhat absurd, and in some places dark – such are the short folktales in this book. Most of them come out of traditional African folklore, as reimagined by child storytellers, with a rather distinctive flavor. These stories came into the hands of the Czech artist David Böhm in the suitcase of his sister Terezie as a stack of student essays from a small Central African school. Retelling these kids' stories in comic format, Böhm creates a singularly refreshing graphic adaptation for adults.