Malaika, Carnival Queen (The Malaika #4)

by Nadia L Hohn (Author) Irene Luxbacher (Illustrator)

Malaika, Carnival Queen (The Malaika #4)
Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade
Series: The Malaika

Malaika learns about her father, who came to Canada as a migrant farm worker when she was just a baby and who shared her love of carnival.

Malaika dreams about a man with a basket of fruit and guesses that the dream is about her father. Mummy explains that her daddy passed away long ago, and Grandma decides it's time Malaika knew more about her father's life. The family drives to a far-off farm where they receive a warm welcome and visit the orchard where Malaika's father picked fruit. The farm workers tell Malaika that her daddy had always dreamed of celebrating carnival there, just like back home. Will Malaika agree to be their Carnival Queen for the harvest festival?

Nadia L. Hohn and Irene Luxbacher have created another compelling story about Malaika, who finds a way to cope with her sadness about her father through their shared love of carnival. Includes an author's note. Key Text Features dialogue glossary illustrations vignettes

Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.6 With prompting and support, name the author and illustrator of a story and define the role of each in telling the story.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.7 With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the story in which they appear (e.g., what moment in a story an illustration depicts).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.1 Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.

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School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 1--In the fourth book about Malaika, she dreams about a man with a basket of fruit and correctly assumes it is her father, who has passed away. Her mother explains that her father was an agricultural worker who came to Canada to earn money for his family; at the time, they lived in another country. Her grandmother decides that it is time for Malaika to learn more about her father. What follows is a heartwarming story as Malaika journeys to where her father used to work and learns about their shared love of Carnival. A celebration of Carnival at the farm concludes the book. The illustrations paint a vivid picture as colors pop from the page; Luxbacher works in shapes that hover between torn tissue paper and sun-touched stained glass. Hohn includes a glossary of French words and an author's note to provide more information about agricultural workers. VERDICT Purchase where other books in the series circulate or for units on Carnival or migrant workers.--Maria Graybosch

Copyright 2023 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes



Nadia L Hohn
Nadia L. Hohn is a writer, musician and educator. The manuscript of Malaika's Costume, her first picture book, won the Helen Isobel Sissons Canadian Children's Story Award. She is also the author of two forthcoming non-fiction titles, Music and Media Studies, part of the Sankofa series, which won the Moonbeam Children's Book Award for Multicultural Non-Fiction. She lives in Toronto, where she teaches French, music and the arts at an alternative elementary school.

Irene Luxbacher is an artist and author living in Toronto, Canada. With more than fifteen years' experience as an illustrator, Irene has received numerous awards for her children's instructional and picture books. Some of her awards include the 2003 National Parenting Publications Gold Award, the 2004 Disney Book Award and the 2007 Ontario Library Association Award. In 2009/10 Irene made the USBBY Outstanding International Books Honor List and was a finalist for the Governor General's Literary Award, both for her illustrations in Andrew Larsen's The Imaginary Garden.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781773068503
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Groundwood Books
Publication date
May 02, 2023
Series
The Malaika
BISAC categories
JUV039250 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Emigration & Immigration
JUV017080 - Juvenile Fiction | Holidays & Celebrations | Other, Non-Religious
Library of Congress categories
Death
JUVENILE FICTION
Picture books
Migrant labor
Fathers
Canada
Agricultural laborers
Holidays & Celebrations
Social Themes
Carnival
Emigration & Immigration
Death, Grief, Bereavement
Other, Non-Religious

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