Mansa Musa: The Richest Man in History, illustrated by Emanuel ColbanPublisher: Our Story Media
Format: Softcover
Number of pages: 26 pages
Published: June 2023
Source: Books Forward
Our Story is a new book series that is working in partnership with CAMFED (The Campaign for Female Education) to introduce young readers to "influential historical figures, many of whom are overlooked in Western curriculums." Each story is written for children ages 8-12, focusing on historical role models such as Mansa Musa, Fatima Al-Fihri, and Shen Kuo. The stories are designed to "inspire kids to reach their full potential" while learning about these significant role models. Each book comes with a pronunciation guide, glossary, engaging activities like how to make an African fabric collage, and supplementary resources for further exploration. For each physical copy purchased the publisher, Our Story will fund a full day's education for a girl in need through CAMFED.
My Review:
In the first book in the series, the reader is introduced to Mansa Musa, who was the emperor of the Mali Empire from 1312 to 1337. He acquired his title as the richest man after having embarked on a pilgrimage to Makkah, the holy city of the Islamic faith. The story covers how his wealth was acquired and provides details of his journey, or Hajj pilgrimage, to include a diplomatic stop in Egypt to meet with the Sultan. Mana Musa was responsible for bringing many architects back to Mali and commissioning the construction of the world famous Djinguereber Mosque and the University of Timbuktu. He used his wealth to further his people's lives by providing many schools and libraries.
Each page of Mansa Musa includes a few paragraphs of text, with one to two vocabulary words presented in bold font. Some of the words included caravan, dinars, Hajj, plummeted, etc. With a quick flip to the back of the book to the glossary there you'll find the definition. I really like how the story part of each page is a different color, moving from orange, to blue to pink, etc. And that the other side of the page, with the illustrations, has this vibrant, textured looking illustration that matches the colorful palate of colors from the text. There's just a wonderful balance in how the page color matches the hues of color in the illustrations and I can see reader's really engaging with the story. I also really enjoyed the style of the illustrations, I'm no expert but there are a few that look like watercolors and they so beautifully reflect the scene in the accompanying text. I get the feel of looking at a tapestry in a museum with a few of the illustrations. Written with short paragraphs and delightful illustrations, I can see this piquing a child's interest to learn more about these historical figures.
A recent BBC interview with the Our Story co-founder Fahad Siddiqui, in which he discusses the need for more global education resources.
Our Story Media Group can be found at:
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Web: www.ourstory.media
I hope you'll check out all the other Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts at Greg Pattridge's blog HERE
**And a huge thank you to Books Forward for the review copy, which I will be donating to my local Little Free Library**
I wonder how Mansa Musa amassed his wealth? It sounds an interesting series, I love history and I think it's a great idea to teach children about world history. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI used to love biographies when I was a kid. And they didn't have illustrations like this one. I may need to check out this series. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting concept. A short book too--perhaps for reluctant readers? Thanks for bringing it to our attention. Carol Baldwin
ReplyDeleteThis would be the perfect length for a reluctant reader, but they might need help with the vocabulary words.
DeleteI have never heard of him. I will definitely look for this book. Thanks for telling me about it.
ReplyDeleteI read the other book in the series and enjoyed it very much. The stories are not lengthy, but you learn a lot about the person. Thanks for featuring your review on this week's Marvelous Middle Grade Monday.
ReplyDeleteThis is so cool. I had not heard of this series (or the group putting the books together), but I love the idea. I'll check them out. Thanks!
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