English / USA
Thank you, Omu!
Mora, Oge
(text/illus.)
New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2018. – [34] p.
ISBN 978-0-316-43124-8
Neighbourhood | Diversity | Cooking | Sharing | Picture book
Reading age: 4+
White Ravens issue: 2019
Omu (an Igbo name meaning “queen”) lives on the top floor of a tall building in a very lively, diverse neighbourhood. She loves cooking, and the enticing scent of her thick red stew simmering on the stove travels “out the window, out the door, down the hall, toward the street, and around the block”. It smells so delicious that one by one, people come knocking on Omu’s door to ask for a tiny little (or larger) portion of the wonderful dish. Generous as she is, she ladles out yummy helpings of her meal to Little Boy, Ms. Police Officer, Hot Dog Vendor, and all the others, until – oh no – nothing is left for her. Yet the next knock brings the whole community back to her door with gifts aplenty, and a joyous celebration commences. Inspired by her own grandmother’s great cooking and generosity, debut artist Oge Mora has crafted a warm-hearted story of food, sharing, and the joy of friendship. Her vibrant, double-spread collage illustrations zoom in and out, providing glances of the neighbourhood as well as Omu’s kitchen, and almost make readers smell the scrumptious stew.