Sabah’s folktales come alive in modern storybooks

The Magical Melon, illustrations by Antut Didi, part of the British Council Storybook Initiative.

When English language teachers and their British Council mentors started a storytelling workshop in a rural Sabah primary school, it turned out to be a serendipitous occasion resulting in the publication of local folktales as children’s storybooks.

Not only did the stories come from the parents of pupils at SK Tiga Papan in Kudat, they were brought to life by Sabahan artists Jainal Amambing and Antud Didi, who both happened to be there.