Thank You, Omu! facts for kids
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| Author | Oge Mora |
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| Publisher | Little, Brown and Company |
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Publication date
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October 2, 2018 |
| Pages | unpaged |
| Awards | Caldecott Honor, Coretta Scot King Steptoe Award |
| ISBN | 978-0-316-43124-8 |
Thank You, Omu! is a 2018 picture book by Oge Mora. The story is about Omu, who cooks a stew and shares it with her neighbors; they show their gratitude by bringing her food. The book started as an assignment for a class of Mora's at the Rhode Island School of Design, where it was seen by an editor from Little, Brown. Thank You, Omu was well reviewed and a recipient of the 2019 Caldecott Honor for its illustrations. The book's mixed media drew praise for their detailed depictions of characters and locations.
Background and publication
The book, originally titled Omu's Stew, started as a student project for a class of Mora's at the Rhode Island School of Design: an assignment which required a character to have gained or lost something. While Omu is the Igbo word for queen, Mora's family had also used it to mean grandmother. In the book's backmatter, Mora credits her grandmother as one of her strong female role models. An editor for Little, Brown was present when the students' books were presented and signed Mora before she even had an agent. The book was published on October 2, 2018.
Plot
Omu makes a stew for dinner and its smell spreads throughout the neighborhood. One by one, starting with a boy, members of the community knock on her door to ask her for some of the stew, which Omu always gives. When Omu is ready for dinner, there is no more stew left. However, the community then brings her food to show their gratitude. They eat together and have a dance party.
Writing and illustrations
Mora chose a mixed media approach of cut paper, paint, and china markers for the book's illustrations. The use of collage gives, in the words of author Benjamin Anastas in The New York Times, "the book’s world a sense of depth and vibrancy." Mora's use of collage allows her to create evocative and distinct characters and attractive backgrounds. The use of mixed-medium collage was compared to the way stew is assembled and the book's themes of diversity and inclusion by Calling Caldecott 's Monique Harris. The illustration of the steam from the stew spreading through the neighborhood received particular attention and praise. The illustrations are bright and in a style that reflects Mora's Nigerian roots and her experience in the African-American community, “I really love that I could combine Nigerian and American traditions and create a book that exists in a third space like I myself do". Her illustrations drew comparisons to that of Ezra Jack Keats.
The nature of the story resembled folklore according to some reviewers. Omu's kindness being repaid by the neighbors helps to reinforce the book's theme of food as a means to sharing, diversity, and inclusion. By sharing the food together at the end the individuals come together as a community. Through her sharing of her food, the main character becomes a grandmother to the entire community. The book's advanced vocabulary, repetition, and onomatopoeia help it to be a good book to be read aloud.
