Esi the Brave (Who Was Not Afraid of Anything)

Young Esi “loved monsters and ghosts and things that went bump in the night.” Though she considers herself exceptionally brave, her mother nevertheless warns her that the Kakamotobi Festival where the family is headed will involve “really loud music, scary monster faces, and a very big crowd.” Esi is unconcerned until, as the family arrives, the swishing, swirling rainbows seen from the car window transform into monsters with “GOOGLY eyes” and “DROOPY LOOPY tongues”—beings that are “ten times scarier than the monsters in her books.” Worse, her parents seem to completely disappear. Surrounded, Esi flees, twisting and weaving through the festival, chased by monsters that call her name. When she is cornered, Esi draws on her courage to demand the monsters return her parents—a brave act that results in a surprising reveal, and a way to join the festivities. Sensate rhymes by Mensah, making his children’s debut, offer musicality, while brightly patterned illustrations from Figueroa (We Wait for the Sun) express big emotions in this tale of courage and culture. Characters are portrayed with brown skin. An author’s note about the Ghanaian festival concludes. Ages 4–8. (Sept.)