One of the people I am most grateful for is Kirsten Cappy. For years, Kirsten has worked tirelessly to promote children’s books, first as a book consultant for Raising Readers and then as a creator of engagement materials at Curious City, which is how I met her. Kirsten created amazing activity kits for my first two picture books, The Nian Monster and Magic Ramen: The Story of Momofuku Ando, which educators still use today. In 2012, Kirsten founded I’m Your Neighbor Books, which is “a project that builds welcoming communities for New Arrivals and New Americans—using children’s literature.” And now, Kirsten, her co-author Yaya Gentille, and illustrator Rahana Dariah have published a gorgeous picture book, KENDE! KENDE! KENDE!
In the Central African language of Lingala, “kende” means “go.” At first, young Lolie is constantly on the move. She and her family soon embark on a long journey to safety and freedom, using various modes of transportation. It is a story about “displacement, migration, and finding a new home.” The New York Times recently reviewed the book and highlighted the theme of “go.”
From the NYT review: “Rahana Dariah’s ‘Kende! Kende! Kende!’ illustrations are full of bold colors and patterns and the busyness of life. From the vibrancy of a tropical village, to the dustiness of a refugee camp, to the stark white snow of an American winter, Dariah uses intense hues to take the reader through the drama of Lolie’s life, to remind us of her family’s constancy and to highlight their need to ‘go.’”
I love multilingual books, and KENDE! KENDE! KENDE! has more languages than most. The main text is shown in French and English, with Lolie and her family’s dialogue in Lingala. Readers can scan the QR codes to hear the story read aloud in other African and African diaspora languages, such as Swahili, Portuguese, Kinyarwanda, and Arabic. What an amazing resource for classrooms with English language learners!
The educational resources don’t stop there. I’m Your Neighbor Books has also developed a STEM educator’s guide for the book, “How Wheels Help Us Kende! Kende! Kende!”, that pairs explanations of the physics of the vehicles in the book with activities.
KENDE! KENDE! KENDE! is a book for new arrivals, budding scientists, and people curious about our world. It is a book for everyone, to welcome everyone.
Kirsten Cappy is the co-founder of I’m Your Neighbor Books, a US non-profit organization that places Immigrant and New Generation children’s literature in homes, schools, and libraries to build an environment of welcoming and belonging.
Yaya Gentille is a former educator from the Democratic Republic of Congo who now works with children’s books in the United States.
Rahana Dariah is a London based digital illustrator. Her illustrations are inspired by her environment and personal relationships and are mainly a narrative of black and brown people, full of colour and world building.
