A family packs into a cheerful white bus, a daladala, and sets off for a trip to the seashore in Zanzibar. In brisk, bouncing rhythms, they take on board an old man and his bike, a man with two goats, sellers with fruit, and an ever-increasing crowd of people, animals, and wares. At each addition Musa protests to Dada, his sister, saying they can’t possibly fit anyone else. But everyone squeezes up, wiggles and giggles, and there’s room after all! They finally end at the seashore, where the daladala unloads and everyone splashes into the bright blue sea.
Bright colors, smiling faces, and a diverse range of skin colors, body types, and ages appear throughout the book and an author’s note adds information about Zanzibar. It’s wonderful to see a book specifically about a place, and not just “Africa” and the creators, although not from Zanzibar, researched the area and the author visited the country.
Aside from the representation it offers, this is a wonderful storytime book. Pair it with the traditional “wheels on the bus” and explore all the different ways people travel, or enjoy the fun rhythms and count each new addition to the daladala. In non-COVID times, this would be fun to pack all the kids into a small area and see just how many can fit in!
Verdict: A new storytime classic, this is sure to be a hit with storytime audiences as well as preschool and kindergarten classrooms. Recommended.
ISBN: 9781534431393; Published November 2021 by Atheneum; Borrowed from another library in my consortium; Ordered for the library
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