Wiil Waal, is a bilingual picture book that tells the story of a Somali Folktale. This story focuses on a clever Somalin ruler, Wiil Waal, who gives the people on his land a task to give him their best body part of their finest sheep. The sheep's body part must symbolize what can divide people and unite them as one. The person that is able to successfully bring the right body part to the man will be deemed the "wise man", and will one day rule the land. A poor's man daughter successfully does this by telling her dad to bring Wiil Waal the sheep's gullet. Wiil Waal seeks out the daughter and tells her she has been deemed the "wise man" and will rule the land.
Did you find the book interesting?/ Is it a good story?
I found this book very interesting. I thought the sheep's gullet symbolized a great message all students can learn from. This book also explains the dynamic of the land on Somalia, it shows that some people do not have a choice when listening to their ruler. They didn't have a choice but to sacrifice meat they could have had for their family.
How does the book educate students? Purpose?
This book educates students about the Somalian culture. I like that this book was bilingual and showed the native language. However, I wish that the Somalian language was stated first in the book followed with the English instead of vice versa.
Lexile: not shown
Bilingual: This book is bilingual and is written in both English and Somalian. I think this aspect of the book is really important. It educates students that there are many more cultures and languages in the world. If there was a Somalian student in my classroom I would have them read the other part of the book if they were comfortable, or have a person come in to share
Symbolism: This both focuses on symbolism throughout. The whole purpose of this story is for the people of the land to find a sheep's body part that symbolizes how people can be divided and united.
Allegory: The allegory of this story is that anyone could have been the "wise man" no matter if they were male or female, young or old, etc.
Mini Lesson- For this lesson, I would pick a topic, such as "friendship" and have students bring in an object from home that they feel symbolizes friendship. They would then have a writing assignment explaining why they chose the object they did. This would allow them to practice their writing skills and learn the term "Symbolism."
Moriarty, Kathleen. Amir, Amin (illustrator) (2007). Wiil Waal. Minnesota Humanities Center.
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