Moja Means One, is an informative story that describes the different aspects of the African culture, while counting to ten in Swahili.

I loved the illustrations in this book, and the fact that it incorporated the learning of other cultures. I thought the book was very interesting, and thought the illustrations were intriguing.

After reading this book to a class, it would be fun to have students go home and talk to their families about their own heritage and cultures. A follow up assignment could be to have the students incorporate their information on their cultures into a short essay.

Tales of East African life are depicted in two-page illustrations for each Swahili translation of the counting numbers one through ten. Young children can easily relate to the subject presented with each number as a brief fact is given about African life with the Swahili number and a familiar vocabulary word is highlighted. Children will enjoy practicing the pronunciations and looking at numbers in a new way. It is a beautiful lesson about a different culture and an excellent addition to a child’s library.

This book received the following recognition:
Caldecott Honor Book, 1971
American Library Association Notable Children’s Book, 1971
School Library Journal’s Best Books of the Year, 1971
Child Study Association Books of the Year, 1971 ( )