The African Mask [Hardcover]

Janet Rupert (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 23, 1994 | Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

Twelve-year-old Layo, a Yoruba girl living in the area of eleventh-century Africa that is now Nigeria, attempts to reject the man who has been chosen to be her husband.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-9-Rupert has modeled an imaginative tale set in the city-state of Ife 900 years ago. Layo, a 12-year-old Yoruba girl, comes from a village of potters. Exceptionally talented, she longs to be able to work the clay as her elders do and to be freed from the menial, apprenticelike tasks that young women must perform. She is concerned not only with how to use her growing abilities in spite of the restraints placed on her by her age, but also faces the prospect of betrothal. When she travels to Ife to live and work with her grandmother, a potter of legendary ability, she faces challenges that test her as a person. The author is careful to stay true to her protagonist's rich culture, depicting its treatment of women, family structure, deep respect for crafts and craftspeople, business acumen, religious beliefs, and complex system of slavery. Readers will not only find this novel enjoyable, but will also come away from it with a greater knowledge of the Yoruba.
Carol Jones Collins, Montclair Kimberley Academy, NJ
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 6-9. The time is 900 years ago in the area of Africa that is now Nigeria. The Yoruba people live in a cooperative city-state ruled by a king believed to be divine, who inspires his people to create things of beauty from wood, bronze, and terra-cotta. Twelve-year-old Layo knows that she, like her grandmother, has a gift for working with clay, but tribal custom dictates that a woman practice the trade of her husband's clan. When she learns that the man chosen for her comes from a family competing against her grandmother to create a death mask from bronze rather than terra-cotta, Layo decides to find a way to prove the match unsuitable. Elements of romance and mystery keep the pages turning in this historically and culturally fascinating coming-of-age tale. Layo is completely believable, both in her own time and culture and in today's, which makes this an excellent beginning vehicle for introducing history and an appreciation of other cultures to middle-grade readers. Rupert worked with a Yoruba anthropologist and incorporates that research well, managing to instill a sense of another time and place without preaching or writing down to her readership. Her style is a bit choppy in places and repetitive in others, but overall, this is an enjoyable and informative read. Jeanne Triner

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 125 pages
• Publisher: Clarion Books; First edition (May 23, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395672953
• ISBN-13: 978-0395672952
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,414,093 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #83 in Books > Children's Books > Literature & Fiction > Historical Fiction > Africa

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars African Mask - book review, August 7, 2000

By 

Trotter-Goetze (Sacramento, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The African Mask (Hardcover)

African Mask features a talented 12-year-old Yourban girl, Layo, in a recreation of 11th century Africa. Layo as a young apprentice, already has strong skills and a great love for the craft of her mother, pottery. She is quickly coming to the age where she will be betrothed and as tribal custom dictates, she will take on the trade of her husbands' clan. Through her attempt to reject the man who has been chosen as her future husband, Layo learns about family love, tradition, and unity. The writing is clear, although readers have to pay close attention to the names of characters. The characters have the traditional Yoruba names derived from relationships, i.e. "Mother of..." "Wife of ..." and "Son of..." Some of the characters are not as fully developed as they could be, but the story with its romance and mystery is enjoyable and informative. The strength of this book is the descriptive detail of the family structure, deep respect for crafts and crafts people, religious belief, complex system of slavery, and customs and traditions strictly followed by the Yoruba of Africa. This book is a useful addition where historical fiction from Africa is needed, such as the California seventh grade world history curriculum.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Very Good Book, January 11, 2002

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The African Mask (Hardcover)

The book The African Mask by Janet E. Rupert is an excellent book. It is a very cordial and calm book, but at the same time it is very stimulating and mysterious. The book also talks a lot about the African culture. The African Mask is about a young girl named Layo, who has the wonderful talent of molding beautiful pots with clay. Layo's talent is very prized where she comes from and is forbidden for children like her to know how to make such a beautiful thing. When Layo's grandmother comes to town from Ife, Layo wants to go back to Ife with her, to help her grandmother make pots in Ife. Will she get to go? Read the outstanding book The African Mask and find out.
I would recommend this book because the reader can learn a lot about another culture. The African Mask takes place in Africa so the reader will learn about the African culture. Some of the things the learns in the book is how African women spend their every day lives, cooking, molding pots, cleaning, fetching water, and finding a good husband are all talked about in the book. Another reason why I would recommend this book is because the events in the book are very thrilling and exiting. For example, Layo and her friends go to spy on a boy, but they have to be very quiet and try not to get caught, that whole part is very nerve racking and electrifying because the reader is waiting to see if they get caught or not. This book will fill the reader with excitement and suspense when reading about Layo and the adventures she has.
One reason why I wouldn't recommend this book is because in the beginning of the book it's pretty hard to get into and hard to keep reading. For example the beginning just talks about Layo doing housework and other chores and that was really boring to read about. Although this one fluke that makes the book a bit harder to get into, once the reader keeps reading they won't want to put it down. This is a thrilling story that gives the reader great information on the African culture.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Follow one's dreams and be true to one's talents, July 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The African Mask (Hardcover)

Layo is a young African girl who has a great talent in pottery. Like her grandmother, she wants to spend her life creating pottery that her people are known for, but the decision is not hers to make. When her parents let her travel to the city to be with her grandmother, she realizes that she is being sent to meet the man who will be chosen as her husband. She now is facing a future in which there is no room for her pottery dream. This story shares in great detail the African culture and history. Young people are able to learn what life was like many hundreds of years ago in Africa. The book expresses the value of being true to one's talents and oneself. It also teaches young people to follow their dreams and to never give up. The African Mask sends a powerful message about life and how our attitudes can make a difference in the direction that our lives move. The book teaches us the importance of believing in oneself and with the right attitude, one will prosper.