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1. Sense Pass King: A Story from Cameroon was written by Katrin Tchana daughter of the story's illustrator and Caldecott Medal winner, Trina Schart Hyman.
Katrin Tchana has written several culturally diverse titles.

Oh, No, Toto!

The Serpent Slayer: and Other Stories of Strong Women

Changing Woman and Her Sisters

She proves herself to be a true female goddess and warrior for women through her accomplished work. Her and her mother lived in New Hampshire. Katrin's husband grew up in Cameroon.

2. Ma'antah a young Cameroonian girl takes readers through her seven villages on an amazing journey. The stories title, Sense Pass King alludes to the main characters keen mind despite her young age. Her actions prove her to be wiser than her king and the people of the seven villages are well aware. This proves to be problematic as the King, feeling threatened, tries to banish her having her killed. However, he does not succeed due to the young girl's sharp wit. He decides instead to listen to her advice and she helps him find a bride and defeat a menacing seven-headed monster. The King makes the mistake of stealing her glory and claiming her success as his own. The wise people of the seven villages are not fooled by the King's lies and decide Ma'antah, the Sense Pass King, will rule as Queen instead of the King. Her reign is long and happy.

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As a first grade teacher in a public education setting, I highly recommend the book Sense Pass King: A Story from Cameroon to fellow teachers or story-tellers alike for their use.
This book, as most folktales do, includes valuable life lessons and topics of discussion for social/emotional development.
In this retelling, the author changed the main character from being a boy to being a girl. This juxtaposition modernizes the story and relates to young girls. Especially young girls of color or with unique cultural backgrounds.
The main character Ma'antah takes on many archetypes including Matriarch, Queen/King, Pilgrim, Prophet, and Warrior. All of these are alluring to children both male and female because the main character is a child herself. It is interesting to think of a child character as a matriarch of seven local villages but her caring of the people and animals shows how a child could be a leader and nurturer. She is a pilgrim as the King forces her to leave but she cleverly finds her way back. She is a prophet as she stands up to the King despite being a female and a child. She is a warrior as she defeats the seven-headed sea monster. I believe it especially important for young females to have these characters to look up to so they can understand that their own success can be achieved on their own accord. This definitely passes the Quick Ways to Analyze Children's Books for Racism and Sexism protocol for using a book where girls achieve based on their own initiative (Honig) and helps argue against boys rejection of things feminine (Dutro). By exposing boys to exciting female characters they will be more inclined to choose stories with female lead characters.
I also recommend this book because it is a valuable resource with which a teacher could expose her students to cultural diversity. Using the article by Nina Terroro, I will quote Tharp who said, "kids crave books that feature characters doing exciting, interesting, brave, or smart things." It is important for children to see black characters doing those exciting, interesting, brave, and smart things.
I do think it very important that if a teacher does choose this story that she should also choose other stories with positive/protagonist black male characters so as to not inappropriately portray black men as being like this unruly King. This book is an excellent way to relate to young children about cultural diversity, gender norms, and to discuss courage, morality, and hard-work.

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Sense Pass King in the Elementary Classroom

I would use this story with grade levels 1-3. It is a Fountas and Pinnell reading level N. It would provide the reader with robust vocabulary however the concepts within are not too difficult for comprehension.

A teacher could engage her students in this story by using the trailer.

A character analysis could be done on the King or the main character Ma'antah. The teacher could perform a lesson on what characteristics are and how a good reader identifies character traits to better understand what they read. A teacher could then read the story Sense Pass King and have her students perform a character analysis of Ma'antah's inside traits and outside traits.

A teacher could use this story to practice the focus skill of comparing and contrasting by reading this retelling and showing her class a 7th Grade's retelling of the story via their play.

A team of teachers could collaborate to perform a cross-curricular activity by putting on thier own play of the story by using the work of playwright, Sarah Carlin.

A teacher could use this story to help students with the focus skill of plot or sequencing. She could copy illustration from the story and scramble them up and have the students put them in order and then write the plot details that match the pictures.

A teacher could use this story and Oh, No, Toto! to perform an author study on Katrin Tchana and a culture unit on Cameroon. A teacher could then educate her students about Cameroonian music, clothing, dance, and food and they could celebrate with traditional music to listen to and food to taste.

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To be used with culture unit...

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FAST FACTS
OFFICIAL NAME: Republic of Cameroon
FORM OF GOVERNMENT: Republic
CAPITAL: Yaoundé
POPULATION: 23,130,708
OFFICIAL LANGUAGES: French, English
MONEY: Central African CFA Franc
AREA: 183,568 square miles (475,440 square kilometers)
MAJOR MOUNTAIN RANGES: Mount Cameroon
MAJOR RIVERS: Benue, Nyong, and Sanaga

GEOGRAPHY

Cameroon, in West Africa, is a mixture of desert plains in the north, mountains in the central regions, and tropical rain forests in the south. Along its western border with Nigeria are mountains, which include the volcanic Cameroon Mountain-the highest point in West Africa at 13,451 feet (4,100 meters).

Cameroon is triangular in shape and is bordered by Nigeria to the northwest, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, the Republic of the Congo to the southeast, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea to the south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the southwest.

PEOPLE & CULTURE

Approximately 250 ethnic groups speaking about 270 languages and dialects make Cameroon a remarkably diverse country.

The Republic of Cameroon is a union of two former United Nations trust territories-French Cameroon, which became independent in 1960, and southern British Cameroons, which joined it after a 1961 UN-sponsored referendum.

NATURE

The rain forests in the south of Cameroon are home to screaming red and green monkeys, chimpanzees, and gorillas, as well as rodents, bats, and a great diversity of birds-from tiny sunbirds to giant hawks and eagles.

A few elephants can be found in the forest and in the grassy woodlands, where baboons and several types of antelope are the most common animals.

Waza National Park in the north, which was originally created for the protection of elephants, giraffes, and antelope, is full of forest and savanna animals, including monkeys, baboons, lions, leopards, and birds.

Central African CFA Franc

Photograph by Glyn Thomas, Alamy

GOVERNMENT & ECONOMY

After Cameroon became independent in 1960, the country began to prosper and the government built schools, helped farmers diversify their crops, and encouraged new types of businesses. The global sale of products, such as cocoa, coffee, and oil, helped boost the economy.

This period of growth lasted for 20 years until corruption and the decline in the value of exports caused the economy to go into a recession. Now Cameroon relies on international aid organizations, as well as the sale of petroleum and cocoa to keep its economy stable.

People with professional jobs usually grow and sell small amounts of crops. The economy depends a lot on the amount of money people can get from selling oil, tea, coffee, and cocoa. Because oil reserves may run out in the future, Cameroon is working to come up with other ways to make money.

HISTORY

Tribes lived in Cameroon's highlands more than 1,500 years ago and began spreading south as they cleared forests for new farms.

Cameroon's colonial name comes from the cameros, or prawns, that 15th-century explorers found in the Wouri River.

Between 1884 and 1916, Germany united the southern and northern areas into a colony. Germany's defeat in World War I led to Cameroon's separation between France and Britain. The French tightly ruled the east from the capital, Yaoundé. The smaller British area to the west was ruled more loosely from Nigeria.

Independence was achieved in French Cameroon in 1960. In 1961, voters in the southern portion of British Cameroon chose to join in a federation with the new republic; those in the north chose to unite with Nigeria. Cameroon's former French and British areas kept separate educational, legal, civil service, and legislative structures until a 1972 referendum adopted a national, one-party system along French lines.

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Cameroon Country Profile - National Geographic Kids

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FAST FACTS OFFICIAL NAME: Republic of Cameroon FORM OF GOVERNMENT: Republic CAPITAL: Yaoundé POPULATION: 23,130,708 OFFICIAL LANGUAGES: French, English MONEY: Central African CFA Franc AREA: 183,568 square miles (475,440 square kilometers) MAJOR MOUNTAIN RANGES: Mount Cameroon MAJOR RIVERS: Benue, Nyong, and Sanaga GEOGRAPHY Cameroon, in West Africa, is a mixture of desert plains in the north, mountains in the central regions, and tropical rain forests in the south.

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Poulet DG - Precious Kitchen - Episode 15

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Hi guys! In this episode, I show you how to make Poulet DG, a classic Cameroonian meal. The meal, which is a combination of chicken and plantain is so bomb.com. You really should make some soon! Check out the detailed recipe here: http://www.preciouscore.com/poulet-dg-recipe/

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Video of play performed via playwright Sarah Carlin

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Grade 7 Presents 'Sense Pass King' - Shore County Day School

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In this retelling of a traditional tale, young Ma'antah displays such cleverness that she earns the nickname, Sense Pass King. The jealous monarch makes repeated attempts to dispose of the child, but ultimately brings her to live in his palace.

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Trailer to be used as anticipatory set

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This video is about Sense Pass King Trailer