Ladder to the Moon
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3.3 • 6 Ratings
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
Features an audio read-along performed by the author, Maya Soetoro-Ng. From Maya Soetoro-Ng, sister of President Obama, comes a lyrical story relaying the loving wisdom of their late mother to a young granddaughter she never met. Little Suhaila wishes she could have known her grandma, who would wrap her arms around the whole world if she could, Mama says. And one night, Suhaila gets her wish when a golden ladder appears at her window, and Grandma Annie invites the girl to come along with her on a magical journey. In a rich and deeply personal narrative, Maya Soetoro-Ng draws inspiration from her mother’s love for family, her empathy for others, and her ethic of service to imagine this remarkable meeting. Evoking fantasy and folklore, the story touches on events that have affected people across the world in our time and reaffirms our common humanity. Yuyi Morales’s breathtaking artwork illuminates the dreamlike tale, reminding us that loved ones lost are always with us, and that sometimes we need only look at the moon and remember.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Soetoro-Ng and illustrator Morales (Floating on Mama's Song) collaborate on a vision of divine love, a love incarnated in a warm, round, brown-skinned grandmother. Soetoro-Ng (who is President Obama's half-sister) writes that the story sprang from a wish that her own mother had lived to meet her granddaughter. In the story, Suhaila's mother tells Suhaila about her Grandma Annie: "Your grandma would wrap her arms around the whole world if she could." That night, Annie appears outside Suhaila's bedroom window and leads her up a golden ladder to the moon, where, from their celestial vantage point, they invite those on Earth they see are bereaved or in need of sustenance up into the sky for healing and rest. Morales conjures these images with real power, painting worshippers of many races and faiths illuminated by candlelight, infants with wings, and softly padded women whose arms promise forgiveness. The phrase "she knew more than she had known before" is repeated like a mantra as Suhaila witnesses cycles of suffering and healing. Nontraditional spiritual literature for children often falters in the execution; this work fulfills its promise. Ages 4 8.
