The Taste of Home
The Taste of Home
Picture Book / Sierra Leone / Ages 4-8 / CABA Honor Book
Self Published / https://www.readersinspired.com/
April 27, 2023
Mariama has been excitedly looking forward to spending the festive December break with her family and friends in Freetown, as she does every year. However, her plans take an unexpected turn when she learns that this time around, her family is going "home" to the "village" instead! Will Mariama embrace this unexpected change and learn to accept another place as "home?" Join Mariam as she travels to the village of Kabala to see her Muslim relatives.
The Taste of Home is set in the West African country of Sierra Leone. A colorful two-page spread highlights the Atlantic port city of Freetown, known for its beautiful beaches. An aerial view shows sailboats, attractive houses, tall apartment buildings, palm trees and green spaces.
Mariama, the book’s main character, loves her life in Freetown. We see her with friends visiting an ice cream shop and playing “football” (soccer) on Freetown’s Lumley Beach. Mariama’s mood shifts when Neeneh (mother) tells her the family is going north to their other home in Kabala to visit Baaba’s relatives. A disgruntled Mariama resists going to the countryside and replies, “But I don’t want another home. My home is in Freetown with all my friends.” The parents prevail and the setting quickly shifts to Kabala, a rural town in the north surrounded by mountains.
Predictably Mariama changes her mind when she is exposed to Kabala’s treasures. She enjoys thiakry, a sweet treat Pa Bah gives her made with milk, yogurt, vanilla and couscous. She witnesses the joyous New Year’s Day Kabala Festival with its music, dance and good jollof rice. With the whole Kabala community, she hikes to Wara Wara mountain. At the summit she sees mountain ranges in the distance and lush green valleys below.
Mariama’s father and his Kabala relatives are Muslim. We know this by their greetings, “As -salaam alaikum,” dress, and the title, “Alhaji” which indicates that Uncle has gone to Mecca and fulfilled one of Islam’s most sacred pillars. Also tucked in the story are Fulfulde words (Neeneh and Baaba) and a bit of Krio (Pa Bah) with “Pa” Krio for father and Bah the character’s name.
First generation Sierra Leonean author Aminata Jalloh’s love for her ancestral city and country shine brightly in this sweet story. In simple yet elegant ways she counteracts the stereotypes of rustic poverty so often depicted in U.S. children’s books about Africa. She also reinforces the “two homes concept” so common in many parts of Africa with a home in town and one “up-line” as they say in Sierra Leone. There is much to unpack here with children: geography, place names, holidays, religious tolerance, food and family. Highly recommended.
Reviewed by Brenda Randolph, MA. MLS.
Howard University
Published in Africa Access Review (April 26, 2024)
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