Next Stop--Zanzibar Road!

by Niki Daly

Readers first met the elephant Mama Jumbo in Niki Daly's Welcome to Zanzibar Road. Here she is sporting her flippy-floppy, flappy-slippy, this-way-that-way pompom hat in five easy-to-read adventures including a bubble gum rescue and a brand-new tutti-frutti shirt for Mama Jumbo's adopted child, Little Chico the chicken. Full-color ink-and-watercolor illustrations bubble over with tiny details of the vivacious African village and Mama Jumbo's comfortable home under the pawpaw tree. A charming picture book/chapter book hybrid that's terrific for reading aloud.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Africa

40 pages, Hardcover

First published October 9, 2012

About the author

Nicholas "Niki" Daly, South African illustrator and children's book author.

http://www.childlit.org.za/ndaly.html

Reviews

[Amelia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very sweet set of 5 short stories set in a South-African-inspired township. Real-to-life (residential setting, types of market stalls, budget limitations on what Mama Jumbo can buy) and fantastical details (using bubble-gum to fix a tire, anthropomorphic animals) are mingled in a charming way. Features a single-mama elephant, Mama Jumbo, and her adorable adopted son, a tiny chicken. We got it out from the library on a whim but was a real winner of a book. Highly recommended for folks looking for modern, non-didactic picture books set in Africa.

[Kenson and kirra · Rating 4 out of 5]

i liked this book because i like to learn about other countries, and languages. while it's writen in only english it does have african names. i think it's funny when my mom gets frustrated because she can't pronounce the names. she likes books with characters like jim and bob.

[wildct2003 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as the first book

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Filled with vivid watercolor, pencil, and digital media illustrations, this picture book is divided into five chapters following the adventures of Mama Jumbo and Little Chico who live in Number 7-Up Zanzibar Road in an unnamed part of Africa. After Mama Jumbo heads to market, she longs for a mirror in order to make it easier to get ready to go out. But she doesn't have enough money for it. When fruit lands in her lap, she exchanges it for beads, and then exchanges those for the mirror and some cloth. From the cloth, she fashions a shirt for Little Chico, who proudly wears it everywhere he goes, collecting compliments from his admirers. I loved how the stories link from one to the next, and how Little Chico and Mama maintain positive attitudes throughout the book and find ways to cope with the challenges in their life. The two-page spread of the market, filled with booths selling just about everything and plenty of animal customers, is particularly appealing as are phrases such as "flippy-floppy, flappy-slippy, this-way-that-way pompom hat" (unpaged) to describe Mama's red hat. This one is fun to read and fun to look at while containing a positive message and philosophy.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Totally charmed by the whimsical combination of true-to-life details (the taxi, the market, the bartering) and the fanciful ones (fixing the tire with bubblegum & Mama Jumbo's trunk). The text is bouncy, sing-song, alliterative and a joy to read aloud.

You know what? I also love that Mama Jumbo is an elephant and her son Little Chico is a bird.

WHY doesn't my library ALSO have Welcome to Zanzibar Road?

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another fun adventure for the characters at Zanzibar Road. There are a lot of things happening here, including problems to be solved, bartering to engage in, and shopping to explore. I liked that Mama had to solve a lot of problems, because in a lot of these stories it is the men/boys who have to solve the problems. The illustrations were entrancing as usual, and the different characters all lent their individual personalities to the story.

[Yoo Kyung Sung · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was worried before I read this one thinking another exoticized animal book about Africa. Obviously Niki Daly thoughtfully put together contemporary image and experiences in South Africa. It would be benefiting to read with other African books.

[Donalyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mama Jumbo is off to the market where her resourcefulness and kindness come in handy. Fun watercolor illustrations and a South African setting make this an interesting book to share.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the setting and atmosphere of Africa with animals and words, but the story is stilled and uninteresting.

[Beverly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story, cute pictures

[Melissa Luttrell-Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good use of action words. Great pictures.

[Ilib4kids · Rating 5 out of 5]

E DALY

[Steffen Minner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great narrative, illustrations and loveable characters.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the setting and the whimsical illustrations in this book, but I was not in love with either the story or the text.

[Hannah]

Anthropomorphic animal societies. Bleh.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whimsical, vibrant, and fun. I particularly like the double-page spread illustration of the market.