Mora, Oge. Thank You, Omu! Oge Mora, Illus. Picture Book. Little, 10/2018. 34pp. $18.99. 978-0-316-643124-8. OUTSTANDING. GRADES PRE-3.
The titular Omu in Thank you, Omu! shares her delicious cooking with friends, neighbors, and other community members in a series of mixed-media collage illustrations. Visually playful fonts highlight new visitors, each representing their own facet of this diverse neighborhood, each of them drawn by the scent of good cooking with a “knock knock” that can actively engage storytime audiences with the text. When it seems that Omu’s generosity has left her without her own dinner, one more knock at the door brings a solution. A note to the reader at the front of the book explains the Nigerian origin and pronunciation of Omu, and an author’s note at the end shares the book’s roots in the author’s memories of her grandmother. Thank you, Omu! offers a story of warmth, generosity, and reciprocity that would be a welcome addition to any school or public library collection.
Janine deManda, San Francisco Public Library