Imani's Moon [Paperback]

Imani is a young Maasi girl with a loving mother and a desire to do something great. When she decides she wants to touch the moon, she works hard to reach her goal, even in the face of teasing from the naysayers around her.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 theadumu, 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 l3v