Juma and the Magic Jinn

Juma and the Magic Jinn, written by Joy Anderson and illustrated by Charles Mikolaycak, is revival of a classic legend about jinns, traditionally called genies, and the complex issues of putting ultimate choice into human hands. The story is written around a young boy named Juma, who is sick of sums and script in school and instead fantasises about writing poetry and creating art. This is an interesting story for a few reasons, first is the cultural setting on the Lamu Island, near the coast of Kenya. This is a primarily Muslim culture in which the author has visited before and studied the cultures as inspired to write the story. This already pleases me a great deal, especially after the over simplified Nanta's Lion, Anderson includes the traditional phrases used in the culture, and does not dumb anything down in the text. The moral of the story is the best part, to be happy in the world you live in is a wonderful lesson for kids to learn, plus the use of a common folk loreof other cultures is great for social science relevancies!