Malaika, Carnival Queen

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.