JaNay Brown-Wood is an early childhood professor and the author of several books for children, includingImani's MoonandGrandma's Tiny House. She also contributed to the poetry anthologyThanku- Poems of Gratitude. Much of JaNay's work is intended to celebrate casual diversity, primarily featuring black characters. JaNay lives in California.
Imani is the smallest girl in the village and therefore the target
of much teasing. At night her mother fortifies her with tales of
mythology and folklore, which the author mentions are part of the
Maasai oral tradition. Imani is particularly inspired by the tale
of Opala, the fearless moon goddess, and she sets out to accomplish
her own great feat. After several failed attempts leave her
disheartened, Imani notices warriors performing the adumu, a Maasai
jumping dance. Inspired once again, Imani jumps up and down, higher
and higher, until she reaches the moon. The message of hope and
gentle lyrical tone make this the perfect story with which to lull
listeners into sweet slumber. Mitchell's watercolor-and-graphite
illustrations are filled with movement, emotion, color, and
perspective. An author's note, meanwhile, contextualizes the story
within Kenyan and Tanzanian culture and extends it beyond the oral
tradition and into the written one.
-Booklist
The cover illustration of a small girl, arms outstretched in front
of a perfect full moon, invites readers into this story of
determination tinged with magical realism. The scene is set on the
title page: straw-covered huts, penned cattle, and flat-topped
trees on a hilltop in Africa. Watercolor paintings add vibrant
color and clear cultural details, for example, the beaded jewelry
and characteristic clothing of the Masai. Imani is the smallest
child in her village and a target for teasing. Her mother's
nighttime stories of the moon goddess Olapa inspire her to try to
touch the moon. Undeterred by children's taunts, Imani fails until
she observes "young warriors performing the aduma, the jumping
dance. Over and over they jumped high into the sky, their heads
caressing the clouds." And so, like a warrior, Imani jumps, higher
and higher, until she lands on the moon. That night she is the one
who tells a story, "The Tale of the Girl Who Touched the Moon."
-School Library Journal
Imani endures the insults heaped upon her by the other village
children, but she never gives up her dreams. The Masai girl is tiny
compared to the other children, but she is full of imagination and
perseverance. Luckily, she has a mother who believes in her and
tells her stories that will fuel that imagination. Mama tells her
about the moon goddess, Olapa, who wins over the sun god. She tells
Imani about Anansi, the trickster spider who vanquishes a larger
snake. (Troublingly, the fact that Anansi is a West African figure,
not of the Masai, goes unaddressed in both text and author's note.)
Inspired, the tiny girl tries to find new ways to achieve her
dream: to touch the moon. One day, after crashing to the ground yet
again when her leafy wings fail, she is ready to forget her hopes.
That night, she witnesses the adumu, the special warriors' jumping
dance. Imani wakes the next morning, determined to jump to the
moon. After jumping all day, she reaches the moon, meets Olapa and
receives a special present from the goddess, a small moon rock. Now
she becomes the storyteller when she relates her adventure to Mama.
The watercolor-and-graphite illustrations have been enhanced
digitally, and the night scenes of storytelling and fantasy with
their glowing stars and moons have a more powerful impact than the
daytime scenes, with their blander colors. While the blend of
folklore, fantasy and realism is certainly far-fetched, Imani, with
her winning personality, is a child to be admired.
-Kirkus Reviews
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