Kofi and His Magic
by Maya Angelou
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A young Ashanti boy describes some of the wonders of his life in and around the West African village of Bonwire.Tags
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Maya Angelou herself creates a story with the stunning photographs taken by Margaret Courtney-Clarke. I wish there was an author's note describing this collaboration, especially how the photos came to be. How did they decide to focus on Kofi? Did Courtney-Clarke focus her photography on him, or did she and Angelou pick him out of a much larger set? Did Courtney-Clarke "embed" herself, following his trips? How did he really end up visiting the north and the Atlantic--was that arranged by a guardian, or by Courtney-Clarke? When did Angelou come in?
Still, as an introduction to Ghana, Kofi and His Magic definitely delivers. The story is a bit shoehorned in around the facts, but ultimately the voice that Angelou creates for Kofi is so show more charming that I kind of forgave the awkward/nonexistent transitions between places and ideas. Having Kofi imagine himself in different parts of the country probably helps kids realize that Africa is not the same everywhere--that even cities in the same country can look very different (painted houses vs. plain), and a boy in what looks like a town in the interior can visit the sea. Kofi shows us his Kente weaving, the table he carries to school on his head, the brightly painted buses that could take him to the city, the colorful houses up north, and the annual festival of Durbar where Kente cloth is on display. It's a whiz-bang introduction, but one many Americans will never get.
Charming and certainly a conversation starter. show less
Still, as an introduction to Ghana, Kofi and His Magic definitely delivers. The story is a bit shoehorned in around the facts, but ultimately the voice that Angelou creates for Kofi is so show more charming that I kind of forgave the awkward/nonexistent transitions between places and ideas. Having Kofi imagine himself in different parts of the country probably helps kids realize that Africa is not the same everywhere--that even cities in the same country can look very different (painted houses vs. plain), and a boy in what looks like a town in the interior can visit the sea. Kofi shows us his Kente weaving, the table he carries to school on his head, the brightly painted buses that could take him to the city, the colorful houses up north, and the annual festival of Durbar where Kente cloth is on display. It's a whiz-bang introduction, but one many Americans will never get.
Charming and certainly a conversation starter. show less
I didn't even glance at the author as i read this one evening to my granddaughter. It was so delightful that I quickly looked to see and of course! Maya Angelou! Of course!
Our older son was born in Kumasi, Ghana and the symbols and colors and scenes brought back all those wonderful memories of hospitality and joy. I just closed my eyes.
Our older son was born in Kumasi, Ghana and the symbols and colors and scenes brought back all those wonderful memories of hospitality and joy. I just closed my eyes.
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A Child's Book Tour of West Africa ::: Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, Ghana, Nigeria
59 works; 5 members
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127+ Works 40,559 Members
Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Annie Johnson on April 4, 1928 in Saint Louis, Missouri. At the age of 16, she became not only the first black streetcar conductor in San Francisco but the first woman conductor. In the mid-1950s, she toured Europe with a production of the opera Porgy and Bess. In 1957, she recorded her first album, Calypso Lady. show more In 1958, she became a part of the Harlem Writers Guild in New York and played a queen in The Blacks, an off-Broadway production by French dramatist Jean Genet. In 1960, she moved to Cairo, where she edited The Arab Observer, an English-language weekly newspaper. The following year, she went to Ghana where she was features editor of The African Review and taught music and drama at the University of Ghana. In 1964, she moved back to the U.S. to become a civil rights activist by helping Malcolm X build his new coalition, the Organization of African American Unity, and became the northern coordinator of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Even though she never went to college, she taught American studies for years at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem. In 1993, she became only the second poet in United States history to write and recite an original poem at a Presidential Inauguration when she read On the Pulse of Morning at President Bill Clinton's Inauguration Ceremony. She wrote numerous books during her lifetime including: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'Fore I Die, All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes, Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now, and Mom and Me and Mom. In 2011, President Barack Obama gave her the Medal of Freedom, the country's highest civilian honor, for her collected works of poetry, fiction and nonfiction. She appeared in the movie Roots and was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in 1977 for her role in the movie. She also played a part in the movie, How to Make an American Quilt and wrote and produced Afro-Americans in the Arts, a PBS special for which she received a Golden Eagle Award. She was a three-time Grammy winner. She died on May 28, 2014 at the age of 86. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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