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.

Luxbacher, Irene

IRENE LUXBACHER is an artist and author living in Toronto, Ontario, who has received many awards for her work. She has written and illustrated Deep Underwater, an Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Award finalist, and Mr. Frank, which was selected as a USBBY Outstanding International Book. Her illustrations for the Malaika series by Nadia L. Hohn have been highly acclaimed, and her illustrations for The Imaginary Garden by Andrew Larsen were shortlisted for the Governor General's Literary Award.

Hohn, Nadia L.

NADIA L. HOHN is an award-winning writer and educator. Her picture books include, Malaika's Costume, Malaika's Winter Carnival and Malaika's Surprise; A Likkle Miss Lou: How Jamaican Poet Louise Bennett Coverley Found Her Voice, illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes; Harriet Tubman: Freedom Fighter, illustrated by Gustavo Mazali; and two titles in the Sankofa series -- Music and Media. Nadia's writing is inspired by her childhood memories, Jamaican heritage, Black culture, world travels, and social issues. She lives in Toronto, Ontario.