Malaika's Costume

Preparing for her first Carnival celebration since Mummy moved from their Caribbean town to Canada to find work, Malaika rejects the idea of reusing Granny's old costume and comes up with her own idea. The bright mixed-media illustrations are filled with stylized images of Caribbean life. With text in the little girl's colloquial voice, readers will quickly feel part of her circle. Glos.

Malaika prepares for her first Carnival celebration since her mother moved from their Caribbean town to Canada to find work. Malaika loves her life with her granny, but she misses Mummy. "If there's so many jobs in Canada, how come Grandma and I have been waiting so long, long for the money Mummy say she would send to make my costume?" Malaika sees the costumes her classmates have created, and she is jealous and concerned. After our little heroine rejects the idea of reusing Granny's old costume, she has to come up with an idea of her own. Using the resources she can find for free and inspired by a song on the radio ("It is true we are poor but we have dignity..."), Malaika makes a costume of which anyone would be proud. Hohn and Luxbacher create a warm community where Malaika is loved by Granny and the townspeople. The mixed-media illustrations are filled with bright colors and stylized images of flowers and water and Caribbean life. The text is told in the colloquial voice of the little girl, and readers will quickly and easily feel a part of her circle. Carnival is an important holiday in many cultures, and it's good to have a picture book to celebrate it. The glossary on the copyright page will help adult readers-aloud educate themselves about the holiday, too. robin l. smith