From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2–Lyra's mother has always told her that she is descended from a princess captured in Africa and taken to the Caribbean. When the girl shares this information with her schoolmates, they don't believe her, and she begins to doubt who she is: "There are not many African princesses who live on the tenth floor and have freckles like me." One day, Lyra's mother tells her that they are going to visit "our African princess, Taunte May." Although specific places are not mentioned in the text, Wilson's colorful mixed-media illustrations suggest that the girl and her family dwell in a large city in Europe or America and they travel to a tropical, exotic country–in the Caribbean perhaps. Taunte May ends up teaching Lyra about African princesses all around the world who are part of her family. By the time the girl returns to school, she is once again confident about her true identity. Edmonds's delivery of this message is light and brief, but clear nonetheless. There is still room for more books showing princesses of color, making this one a welcome addition. Pair it with Joyce Carol Thomas's The Gospel Cinderella (HarperCollins, 2004).–Mary N. Oluonye, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH
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PreS-Gr. 3. The kids at school poke fun at Lyra, who says she is an African princess, even though she lives on the tenth floor of a city apartment building and her dad is white. But when her parents take her back to the far-off savanna where Mama played as a child, she meets her elderly Taunte May, who tells her to be proud of her family, which began in Africa long ago and spread around the world. They are all princesses, says Taunte May, all part of her big family tree. It's not clear why Lyra must feel like a princess in order to be proud, and the vagueness of the setting (does she visit the Caribbean or some African country?) makes the story generic rather than universal. What works here is the mixed heritage identity aspect, and the bright, playful collage pictures, which, like a patchwork quilt, mix together city images with bits and pieces of tropical birds, monkeys, trees, and people from everywhere. The pictures celebrate the diversity of Lyra's roots and connections across time and space. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
About the Author
Lyra Edmonds enjoys painting fast and jogging slowly. She is of mixed
heritage and explores this theme in AN AFRICAN PRINCESS, her first book, which journeys from the tentative realization to the proud acknowledgment that whoever we are is always cause for celebration. Lyra Edmonds lives in East Sussex, England, with her husband, three children, and two cats.
Anne Wilson was born on Ascension Island, in the South Atlantic Ocean, and has lived in England since the age of four. Formerly a freelance
illustrator, she now focuses her work on children's books. She says she
seeks warmth and inspiration by submerging herself in a variety of cultures and environments, then sharing her experiences through her creative life.
