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WORK TITLE: Night: A Children’s Fable
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CITY: Los Angeles
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COUNTRY: United States
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Female.
EDUCATION:Has a BFA in Film and Animation.
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Illustrator and animator. Has worked on a number of projects for major animation studios.
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Booklist, January, 2025, Rebecca Thornburgh, review of Night: A Children’s Fable, p. 68.
Publishers Weekly, October 14, 2024, review of Night, p. 87.
Shana Dixon is a passionate artist from a small town in southern New Jersey. After graduating with a BFA in Film and Animation, she has worked on a number of projects for major animation studios. From animated tv series, to short films, and now children’s books, Shana is dedicated to showcasing Black joy through imaginative storytelling.
Illustrator residence: Los Angeles, CA
Night: A Children's Fable.
By Katherine Jumbe. Illus. by Shana Dixon.
Jan. 2025. 40p. Levine Querido, $18.99 (9781646144631).
K-Gr. 2.
Set in the beauty of a Malawi landscape, this picture-book fable from skilled debut creators explores the balance between day and night. When the characters--both animals and a young girl and her baby sister--glory in the pleasures of daytime but complain when things turn cold and dark, the sympathetic goddess of the Dark removes night from their world. Initially delighted, the people soon suffer from relentless heat and drought. This time, the angry Dark refuses to hear their anguished pleas. With her baby sister snugly wrapped, determined Alekachawo braves a skyward journey. Touched when this polite child humbly offers all her modest but precious possessions, the Dark's anger softens. The people exult when night returns to restore balance in their world. Cinematic art reinforces the drama, with rich, jewel-like colors and inventive compositions in sweeping layouts. Decorative line work adds detail, while a distinctive drawing style gives this world and its inhabitants a unique charm. A glossary of Malawi vocabulary brings resonance to the story's cultural origins. A captivating tale to enrich the folktale canon.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2025 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
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Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
Thornburgh, Rebecca. "Night: A Children's Fable." Booklist, vol. 121, no. 9-10, Jan. 2025, p. 68. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A829739510/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=e6ee7cac. Accessed 20 Apr. 2025.
Night: A Children's Fable
Katherine Jumbe, illus. by Shana Dixon. Levine Querido, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-64614-463-1
In Jumbe's thought-provoking debut, animals enjoy a gorgeous savanna day while young Alekachawo sets her baby sister, Mwana Wamkazi, in the sun to play. But when day ends, the animals bemoan the night, and the sisters huddle in front of a fire indoors. Following weeks of complaints, the Dark takes away the darkness, ensuring daylight henceforth. For a time, everyone rejoices. But as the new normal takes its toll (Turtle's shell begins glowing "like a burning coal"), the complaints begin anew, and without apologizing, the characters beg the Dark to reinstate night. When the Dark shuns their pleas, Alekachawo, fearing for her sister's survival, straps Mwana Wamkazi to her back and takes a humble offering up the sky road to plead for relief. Mollified, the Dark agrees to bring back the night, and rain soon follows. Dixon (Gracie's New Class) divides animation-style cartooning between lively terrestrial and ethereal sky scenes, while the sisters--the fable's emotional center--offer a smart counterweight to the animals' antics. Human characters are portrayed with dark brown skin. A glossary of Chichewa words concludes. Ages 4-8. (Jan.)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Night: A Children's Fable." Publishers Weekly, vol. 271, no. 39, 14 Oct. 2024, p. 87. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A812940839/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=7e67e6bb. Accessed 20 Apr. 2025.