Gathered from 7 of the more than 40 ethnic groups of Kenya, these stores are brought to you both as original translations and as lively, ready-to-use retellings. Ethnic groups respresented are the Kikuyu, Turkana, Akamba, Kipsigis, Taita, Luhya, and Samburu. Cultural and historical background information on the groups, notes on the stories, lists of further resources, and tips for retelling make this collection useful to librarians, storytellers, public speakers, teachers, and parents. The fascinating account of McNeils's own experiences and observations in collecting the tales is woven throughout the book. Beautiful color photos of Kenyan storytellers and the animals portrayed in the stories illustrate her journey and the tales.

Biologists studying large carnivores in wild places usually do so from a distance, using telemetry and noninvasive methods of data collection. So what happens when an anthropologist studies a clan of spotted hyenas, Africa’s second-largest carnivores, up close—and in a city of a hundred thousand inhabitants? In Among the Bone Eaters, Marcus Baynes-Rock takes us to the ancient city of Harar in Ethiopia, where the gey waraba (hyenas of the city) are welcome in the streets and appreciated by the locals for the protection they provide from harmful spirits and dangerous “mountain” hyenas. They’ve even become a local tourist attraction. At the start of his research in Harar, Baynes-Rock contended with difficult conditions, stone-throwing children, intransigent bureaucracy, and wary hyena subjects intent on avoiding people. After months of frustration, three young hyenas drew him into the hidden world of the Sofi clan. He discovered the elements of a hyena’s life, from the delectability of dead livestock and the nuisance of dogs to the unbounded thrill of hyena chase-play under the light of a full moon. Baynes-Rock’s personal relations with the hyenas from the Sofi clan expand the conceptual boundaries of human-animal relations. This is multispecies ethnography that reveals its messy, intersubjective, dangerously transformative potential.

Samburu. The promised land for a jungle kingdom within a land of sunshine called Kenya. Nearly all the animals are God-fearing Christians. Every Sunday, the pets of God worship him under a sacred tree and Socialize with their neighbors. Sadly, no one ever invites Hyena, a lonely atheist, agonist, or something who desperately wants to be someones friend. The dragon god has chosen a holy slumber rather than annihilate them all for serving an imaginary unseen God. Meanwhile, the animals decide to realign their allegiance and feed the god in his sleep hoping when he wakes up, he will make everyone as wise and powerful as gods. A stone altar is built for food offerings. Soon the animals are bowing and tithing the best of their meager food to the dragon. But the dragon god is livid, and chaos is about to erupt on the top of Devils Mountain. In this Christian fairy tale, the Dragon Slayer slowly unsheathes his sword. But it is up to the Pets of God to let him save their future. They must call him by The Name . The author calls her original style Holycraft, an onslaught on witchcraft in the book shelves. This is the first of The Pets of God series.

After narrowly avoiding a personal disaster, she-wolf Alyssa Morgan can’t wait to leave her wolf pack and start her life over. Trying to rebuild her shattered self-esteem, she swears off relationships. When she accepts a job at Stone’s gym, working for three hunky were-hyena brothers, she discovers the hardest thing she ever had to do wasn’t leaving her pack, but keeping them at arm’s length. Dante, Cairo, and Mason Stone have been unlucky in love. As were-hyenas, they need to share a mate, and they hadn’t found the right woman… until Alyssa walks through the door. But the sweet she-wolf is anything but interested in a relationship with them. Oppressed within her wolf pack, she doesn’t see herself as worthy of their affection. When her life is threatened and they almost lose her, they decide it’s time to convince her that she is their mate and they are perfect for each other. This story contains one she-wolf trying to find herself, three overprotective were-hyenas with love on their minds, m/f/m/m interaction, neck biting, and symbolic tattoos.