Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears

link related to the story that can be used as a resource

Verna Aardema

Author Qualification(s): teacher for almost 40 years; retold several African folktales but had no direct experience with African culture

Illustrator Qualification(s): Leo Dillon's parents were from Trinidad; both illustrated together to improve diversity in children's books

Genre(s)

Picture Book

Porquoi Foktale

Diverse / Multicultural Topic(s)

Explains the "why" of the natural order

Why we can't take people's behaviors at face value without understanding the underlying cause

Awards

Caldecott Medal (1976)

Brooklyn Art Books for Children Award (1977)

Plot Summary

This story seeks to explain, in a series of events, how the mosquito came to buzz in people's ears. The iguana was annoyed by the mosquito, who went on and on about the size of the farmer's yams, so he stuck sticks in his ears. From there, things just spiraled out of control and many animals of the forest were misunderstood, until the owl stopped calling the sun to rise. The lion decided to call a meeting to sort the whole thing out. When it was learned that the mosquito was the cause of it all, all the animals of the forest wanted the mosquito punished, but he flew away before he could be found. Now he buzzes in people's ears to find out if everyone still hates him.

Connections & Representation

Anyone who has ever said or did something that was miscontrued will be able to relate to this story.

Stereotypes

This book is culturally generic. Even though it is adapted from an African folktale, there are no real stereotypes to speak of.

Conflicts

All the animals in this story are misunderstood in some way, which ends with monkey pushing baby owl out of the nest and accidentally killing it.

Insider/Outsider

At first, monkey is an Outsider when the animals learned that he killed baby owl. Later on, mosquito becomes an Outsider and is banished when the council determines that he is the cause of all the animals' problems.

Teachable Moment

This book teaches us that we may not always know or understand the motives why certain people behave the way they do, and it is best not to jump to conclusions or pass judgement too quickly.

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