Welcome to Zanzibar Road

We bought this book for our daughter a year ago, just after she turned 2, and she immediately loved it. Lovely gentle themes of friendship, helping, the meaning of home and caring about others. Because it is divided into 5 chapters, it's easy to fit Zanzibar Road stories into our bedtime routine, whether we have time for just 1 or all 5 stories. Now she is 3, and she requests specific stories each night. She particularly loves the one about the shadow on the wall, I think because she can related to being scared in the dark and likes the idea of turning a scary shadow into a familiar-looking well-loved shadow.

Mama Jumbo is an elephant that is loking for a place to call home. She build her home from a pile of junk on Zanzibar Road. She is lonley and looks for someone to share her home with. She ends up taking in a homeless bird and this is book about their life together The book has mini chapters that could each stand alone as a story. Perfect a for bedtime read aloud

The illustrations in this picture book are wonderful and make the story come to life. Mama Jumbo, a female elephant, is looking for a place to live when she happens upon a small South African village filled with different animals. They are a lively bunch, including Bro Vusi, Little Chico, and Baba Jive, and they live in their own homes in the village. So, when Mama Jumbo needs a roommate, the only homeless animal - Little Chico - volunteers. Mama Jumbo cares for Little Chico like her own child, and the book is divided into mini-chapters that can stand alone as a story. Mama Jumbo wears traditional African clothing and the story tries very hard to be `authentic.' The book is a wonderful introduction to diversity and friendship and caring.