Ayo's Adventure: Across the African Diaspora from Afro to Zulu

by Ain Heath Drew, Erin K. Robinson (Illustrator)

Overview

“As a lifelong literacy advocate, I seek out children’s books that help kids explore the world around them. Ayo’s Adventure is a journey through the sights and sounds of the African diaspora. I loved hanging out with Ayo on his adventure. I learned so much” – LeVar Burton, actor and children’s literacy advocate"

"Ayo told his mother all about the cultures, celebrations, and places he'd visited...He told her how Black people around the world fought, rebelled, and resisted, to create, innovate, and inspire."

One night as Ayo sits in front of a world map, his dad explains, "Our ancestors came from many nations in Africa. We are still connected to them today..."
"What do you mean, Dad?"
"I'll tell you more about this tomorrow, Ayo. Right now, it's bedtime."

But when Ayo drifts off to sleep, his dreams take him on an extraordinary journey through space, time and the alphabet to discover cultures of the African diaspora. "H" is for hip-hop, and "K" is kente cloth. "M" is for Mansa Mansa to and "R" is for revolution. He learns just how much the African diaspora has inspired the entire world in this A to Z exploration of Black history and culture.

• Country labels, inset boxes and pronunciation guides on each page provide additional background information.
• Extensive endnotes dive deeper into the African diaspora and the cultures featured in the story.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798888592113
Publisher:	Barefoot Books
Publication date:	09/17/2024
Pages:	56
Product dimensions:	10.00(w) x 11.80(h) x 0.45(d)
Lexile:	900L (what's this?)
Age Range:	5 - 10 Years

About the Author

Ain Drew is the author of Ari J.’s Kinky, Curly Crown. She is inspired by the power of words and loves writing beautiful stories for children. As an educator, Ain uses books to expand her students’ knowledge about the world around them. Ain lives in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, and enjoys spending time with her son, DJ, learning about different cultures around the globe, exploring new places, and reading.

Erin K. Robinson is an Emmy-nominated illustrator trained at the Parsons School of Design and the Corcoran School of Art. Erin's illustrations have been featured in the New York Times and the Washington Post, and she has illustrated numerous picture books, including A Library by Nikki Giovanni. Erin splits her time between Brooklyn, NY, and Washington, DC.

Editorial Reviews

As a lifelong literacy advocate, I seek out children’s books that help kids explore the world around them.  Ayo’s Adventure is a journey through the sights and sounds of the African diaspora. I loved hanging out with Ayo on his adventure. I learned so much.” - LeVar Burton, Actor + Children’s Literacy Advocate

“Ayo’s Adventure is a dreamy and illustrious stroll through Black history and culture. It is a beautiful and brilliant reminder that Blackness is both deep and wide and joyful. It is everything I would read to my three free Black children” – Dr. Kellie Carter Jackson, Ph.D, Chair of the Africana Studies Department at Wellesley College

“A gentle but enormously powerful introduction to the Diaspora, Ayo’s Adventure is a joyfully inventive journey that can inspire readers of all ages to explore the many ways that people of African heritage around the world are connected” – Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, author of Makeda Makes a Birthday Treat
 

“A book brimming with affirmations of Blackness! Ayo’s Adventure is a love letter that reveals to be part of the African Diaspora is to be part of a global community of Black brilliance, Black creativity, Black resilience, Black joy” – Dr. Sonja Cherry-Paul, co-founder of the Institute for Racial Equity in Literacy
 

“Structured as an ABC book (A is for Afro, B is for Braids, C is for Calypso), Ayo’s adventure takes him all around the globe . . . This is a valuable book to serve as a mirror or window for a wide variety of readers and reading levels” – School Library Journal
 

“Succinctly described, and with standout illustrations by Erin K. Robinson, Ayo finds out more about everything from Afro hair, carnival and kente cloth to Brazil's Quilombo community, soul food and Ethiopian empress Taitu (Taytu) Betul.” - Absolutely Education magazine

"Children will learn much from this book – I did!" – IBPA Book Award Judge

"This selection should be in every public library and introduced in every elementary school DEI program and library" – IBPA Book Award Judge

From the Publisher

2024-08-30
A Black child receives a bedtime lesson on the interconnectedness of the African diaspora.

As Ayo tries to sleep, he turns to an alphabet book that inspires a dreamy adventure. Whether taking in the calypso music of Trinidad and Tobago or enjoying Nigerian fufu made from pounded plantain and cassava, Ayo gets a thorough education in the diversity of African diasporic cultures. He’s even transported through time as he travels to early-20th-century Tulsa, Oklahoma, to learn about Black Wall Street, and to the Bronx circa the 1980s to witness the development of hip-hop. The book is made up of alphabetically arranged entries (A is for Afro, whileK is for Kente cloth), each listing a location and a brief description. Some pages are overburdened by text, and at times the author struggles to distill complex topics into digestible bits; a single spread doesn’t feel like enough space to explore hip-hop, while the Yoruba people are known for more than their “wood carvings, glassmaking, and weaving.” Occasionally, the digital art feels somewhat chaotic, with discordant colors, textures, and elements mingling. Still, it’s a laudable and ambitious effort, and one that will likely stir curious readers to learn more.

A jam-packed, at times unwieldy, globetrotting primer on Blackness. (supplemental information, glossary)(Informational picture book. 5-9)

Kirkus Reviews