We are delighted to see that James Berry’s A Story about Afiya’ has landed a place on the NY Times list of best 25 Children’s books for 2020.
James Berry was a celebrated Jamaican poet, living in the UK. James received a Coretta Scott King Book Award and the Smarties Grand Prix, and was awarded an OBE by the Queen for services to poetry. He passed away in 2017. Anna Cunha is an award-winning Brazilian artist who has illustrated more than 20 books. Her work has been shortlisted for the Jabuti Prize and received a Joao-de-Barro Prize honorable mention.
A Story about Afiya
Some people have dresses for every occasion but Afiya needs only one. This joyous celebration of childhood, culture and place follows a young girl named Afiya — “health” in Swahili — whose summer frock “collects” what she sees as she dances across an island in motion. Each airy spread is a fresh canvas for its Brazilian illustrator, Anna Cunha, just as Afiya’s dress is newly washed each morning. Her dress records the memories of her childhood, from roses in bloom to pigeons in flight, from tigers at the zoo to October leaves falling. A joyful book written by the late Coretta Scott King Book Award-winning Jamaican poet James Berry.
See the full list here https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/02/books/review/best-childrens-books.html