Kamau and ZuZu Find a Way: A Picture Book

(Hardback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

Kamau & ZuZuFind a Wayis a stirring story of African diaspora, resourcefulness, and intergenerational love by National Book Critics Circle Award finalist andrenowned poet Aracelis Girmay, and acclaimed illustrator Diana Ejaita.

One day, young Kamau and his grandmother ZuZu wake up to find themselves on the moon. Kamau doesn't remember Back Home, but Grandma ZuZu does, and she misses it terribly. Together, through cloth scraps and dance, letters and song, Kamau and ZuZu find a way to make a new life for themselves in this strange land: a new life which is not only rooted in the stories, memories, and traditions that ZuZu always carries with her, but which also lovingly reaches out across the vast expanse of space to connect and communicate with the family from which they've been separated.

Acclaimed poet Aracelis Girmay and illustrator Diana Ejaita together weave a powerful story inspired by the African diaspora, in which-despite the shock of being uprooted into this alien world, without being given any choice or explanation, and the sorrow that comes from the unfathomable distance separating them from their beloved community-Kamau and ZuZu find a way to live, as people do.

Reviews

National Book Critics Circle Award finalist and poet Girmay crafts a cosmic metaphor for the Black diaspora in this picture book illustrated by New Yorker contributor Ejaita. After Kamau and his grandmother ZuZu suddenly wake up on the moon, they must draw on the culture ZuZu lovingly remembers in order to thrive and establish connections with far-flung, much-missed relatives. * Publishers Weekly, 12 Childrens Books by Black Authors to Read in 2024 *

Author Bio

Aracelis Girmayis a writer, teacher, aunt, and mother. She is the author of three books of poems and is the editor ofHow to Carry Water: Selected Poems of Lucille Clifton.For her work she has received the Whiting Award, the Isabella Gardner Award, and the GLCA New Writers Award. Her books have also been named finalists for the Connecticut Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Hurston/Wright Award, and the Neustadt International Prize for Literature. Most recently, Girmays poetry and essays have been published inThe Paris Review,Granta,Black Renaissance Noire, andPEN America, among other publications.She is on the editorial board of the African Poetry Book Fund, and she lives and reads with her family in Brooklyn, New York.

Diana Ejaita works as an illustrator and textile designer in Berlin. What sets her illustrations apart is a combination of dramatically contrasting areas of black and white with soft patterns and textures that create images that betray the strength of femininity. Born in Cremona, with Nigerian origins, her aesthetic pays homage to her lineage.