The author retells ten traditional stories remembered from her Nigerian childhood, conjuring up a strange world where animals talk and spirits intervene in daily life. They are moral tales, where happy endings are not to be taken for granted, as in the story, 'The Child Who Never Went Out' which ends in heartbreak for a couple whose miracle child is returned to the spirit realm when she disobeys an instruction - reminiscent of the Russian folktale, 'Little Daughter of the Snow'. Other stories are full of humour, particularly those concerning the animal world and its villainous but likeable tricksters. Occasional black and white illustrations.