Imani's Moon [Hardcover]

A delightful mix of folklore and fantasy follows Little Imani as she works up the courage and confidence in herself to achieve big things. 

Little Imani is the smallest one in her village. The other children make fun of her and tell her she's too tiny, that she's an ant, that a meerkat might stomp her, and that she'll never amount to anything. Imani begins to believe them.

At bedtime, Imani's mama tells her traditional Maasai stories about the moon goddess Olapa and Anansi the spider. They accomplished the impossible. Imani's mama tells her that she is the one who needs to believe if she wants to reach new heights. So Imani sets out to touch the moon.

An unforgetable story about the power of believing in ourselves that is sure to inspire young readers to reach for their own moons.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 lC-