Baptiste Baptiste

Corinne La Mer, the half-human, half-jumbie girl whose story began in Tracey Baptiste's The Jumbies, returns in this second fantasy novel devoted to her adventures. When children on her Caribbean island begin to go missing, Corinne finds herself once again an object of suspicion for many of her neighbors. She herself suspects that Severine, her jumbie mother's sister, has returned from the sea into which she was cast at the end of the last installment of the series. Together with her show more friends, Dru, Bouki and Malik, Corinne sets out to enlist the aid of powerful water jumbie Mama D'Leau in her quest to find and rescue the children. This aid comes with a price however, and Corinne and her friends soon find themselves involved in an epic adventure stretching from the Caribbean to West Africa and back again, dealing with mermaids, missing magical jewels, the transatlantic slave trade, and Papa Boi - the powerful jumbie who protects the forest on their island home - along the way...

Like its predecessor, I found the story in Rise of the Jumbies quite engaging. I appreciated Tracey Baptiste's incorporation of the folklore and mythology of her native Trinidad into the story, and the ways in which she tied that folklore to the stories and traditions of West Africa, from which it is no doubt descended. Although the question of the relationship between Mama D'Leau and Mami Wata is never quite answered in the story, the implication is that they are either related, or the same figure. Whatever the case may be, I appreciated this glimpse into folkloric traditions that don't always find their way into American children's books. I also greatly enjoyed meeting the gentle Papa Boi, who, in traditional lore, is married to Mama D'Leau. The story-line involving the mermaids was fascinating and tragic - they are revealed to have once been human girls, captured as slaves in Africa, and survivors of the sinking of the slave ship on which they were being carried - although the historian in me couldn't help but wince a bit at the idea that they would find descendants of their families along the coast of West Africa, given what I know of the slave trade. By sheer coincidence, I happened to be reading an article about the involvement of coastal West Africans in the slave trade, while I was also reading the conclusion of Rise of the Jumbies, and the critical adult in me kept thinking: wouldn't it be more likely that the children and mermaids would encounter descendants of those who had sold the girls/mermaids, rather than their own families, who probably came from further inland? Of course, this is a fantasy novel, so despite my historical qualms, I still enjoyed the story.

On an entirely separate note, I did feel, much as I did with the first book, that the conclusion here was a little rushed. The narrative never really explains why, or describes how the islanders, so hostile to Corinne after she rescued the children, had a change of heart, making their reverse course, in offering gifts in order to recall the mermaid Corinne to the island, and restore her to human form, rather mystifying. In one scene, Laurent is disgusted by Corinne, but the next time we see him, he's encouraging his mother to participate in the efforts to bring her back. Baptiste never really accounts for the change of heart. One wishes that she had fleshed out the chapters occurring after Corinne departs, in order to make these developments feel a little less random. Still, despite that criticism, and the historical issue mentioned above, I did find Rise of the Jumbies entertaining, and often quite moving. I liked the incorporation of the history of the slave trade into the more folkloric narrative - after all, folktales have helped many human groups to survive times of great suffering and injustice - and I appreciated the discussion throughout of issues of difference and belonging. In short, I enjoyed this enough that I will be tracking down the third installment of the series, The Jumbie God's Revenge. show less

Corinne La Mer has settled back into island life after her fight with the jumbie Severine (The Jumbies, 2015), but no sooner does normalcy arrive than it leaves again when an earthquake rocks the island and her friend Laurent goes missing.

Other children start to disappear, and Corinne’s only clue leads her to the water. With steadfast friends Malik, Bouki, and Dru, she sets out to uncover what mysterious force has taken the children and defeat it. She makes a bargain with the water jumbie show more Mama D’Leau for help, but even with a supernatural boost, Corinne will need all of her strengths to defeat the mysterious kidnapper and save her friends. Baptiste’s colorful, rich Caribbean characters return triumphantly in this sequel, and the mythos of the island continues to expand. Baptiste deepens what could be a light and charming undersea adventure with ties to African religions and the historical legacy of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. As other young children of the African diaspora sort out their feelings about and relationships with slavery, so do Corinne and her loyal friends. While other tales may address it with a casual aside or scrub out the grimiest bits, leaving history in a shiny, tidy package removed from reality, Baptiste allows her characters to find and create ways to grapple with uncomfortable truths.

A stirring and mystical tale sure to keep readers thinking past the final page. (Fantasy. 8-12)

-Kirkus Review show less

I love reading folklore from around the world. What I enjoyed almost as much as reading the book was research what Jumbies are and where they come from. I did this shortly after I started the book. I had not heard of them before. Knowing a little bit about them before I started the book made it that much better. Reading this book was a treat for the senses. The world building is so good you can visualize it. You can almost taste the oranges. You are right there with Corinne. This is just show more creepy enough to pull the reader in and hold them in the world. The author surrounds the main character with other characters who have their own issues. They find themselves a lot stronger working together. This is a common theme in middle grade books.
Every culture has their “boogie man” that parents use to warn their children to be good. Children are taught about the evil Jumbies. Corinne doesn’t believe in these magical creatures. But like all good creepy stories the main character will soon have to change their opinion. I began this book during the evening my husband was out moving his bees. I quickly decided this was a book I needed to read during the day. That is something that is an awesome sign for me. It means that the book is so good and creepy that I will want to get a good start real early the next morning. Each Jumbie has its own creep factor that made this so original and such a great read. Books like this one are the reason I prefer reading middle grade fiction. This is now one of my favorite authors. show less

Trinidadian-American author Tracey Baptiste, whose middle-grade fantasy trilogy, The Jumbies, explored the world of these folkloric creatures of the Caribbean, returns to that theme in this charming picture-book. Despite being assured by her mother that jumbies are only to be found in stories, Naya sets out one night to find some, meeting a douen, a lagahoo, a soucouyant, Papa Boi and Mama D'Leau in the process. Each creature challenges her, before joining the hunt, and eventually the group show more find themselves back at Naya's home...

Having read and enjoyed Baptiste's fantasy novels about the jumbies, I was quite excited to discover that she had also written a picture-book on the subject, and lost no time in tracking it down. Looking for a Jumbie did not disappoint, pairing an engaging adventure story with a repetitive sing-song structure, and just the right blend of spooky and sweet appeal, with cute artwork from illustrator Amber Ren. I would love to read a more extensive collection of traditional tales featuring these and other kinds of jumbies, but Baptiste's book is a nice introduction to them, for younger audiences. Recommended to picture-book readers looking for stories about less well-known fantastical creatures, and to anyone seeking children's books with a Caribbean cultural background. show less