Synopses & Reviews
Juma and his family drive across Tanzania to visit his grandmother. Now eight years old, he and his young sister, Sareeya, enjoy adventures from Dar es Salaam across to the plains of the Serengeti. During the journey, they see Mt. Kilimanjaro and encounter an obstinate elephant, a drooling giraffe, and wrestling beetles. The story introduces northern Tanzania and ki-Swahili words for animals. The story is supplemented with a national map of the United Republic of Tanzania, a map of the continent of Africa, and a Swahili language glossary.
This new series of children's books is set in Tanzania, a country in East Africa. They feature an engaging young narrator and his day-to-day adventures in a middle-class family. Each story highlights Tanzanian cultures, the Swahili language, animals, and geography.
About the Author
Lisa Maria Burgess wrote the Juma stories with her young sons when she taught in the Department of Literature at the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. She currently divides her time between Beijing, China and Taos, New Mexico in the United States.
Abdul M. Gugu lives in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and works as a book illustrator.