Indigo Dreaming is a beautiful book written by Dinah Johnson, an English Professor and illustrated by Anna Cunha, an award winning Brazilian artist . It is specially designed for children between ages 4-8 but can be enjoyed by all lovers of fiction and poetry.
The story is about a little girl from South Carolina who moves to the Indigo beach coast at sunrise and imagines how life could possibly be for a girl of her age just across the ocean. She delves into her imagination and becomes conscious of the fact that someone like her might be playing, singing, dressing and eating like how she does.
She doesn’t neglect the fact that there are other people with similar interests as hers.
The story depicts the similarities and interconnectedness of people of African descent in the diaspora, the Gullah’s to those on the African continent just across the Atlantic Ocean as well as those in other regions of the World.
1. Lessons from the book
It teaches children to be creative thinkers, to cast their imaginations wide and be thoughtful.
It teaches Children to look out for their family and show concern for what others might be doing. It also teaches children to be compassionate. “Does she squirm while her mama braids her hair?” Does she pick out an indigo dress to wear?”
It teaches readers to appreciate others from different backgrounds. The little girl knows that her culture is her identity which makes her unique, she is not oblivious that another person beyond the coast also has an identity similar to hers.
The book again teaches its readers about the beauty in unity. The girl acknowledges that though they might be in different parts of the world, there is a common point for unity. There is always something that draws people together and that should be the central focus rather than allow factors bound around geography to cause division.
“I think we are looking at the very same moon as its glowing fills both our rooms”.
2. Illustrations
The illustrations are close to nature and are so real that it catches the attention of anyone who comes into contact with the book. The pictures are descriptive enough to influence one's imagination.
Indigo Dreaming is to inspire its readers to learn about people who may have a similar culture as theirs. In brief, it is to engender children to learn about others across the globe.