The Many Values of Multicultural Alphabet Books: "Jambo Means Hello"

Jambo Means Hello, written by Muriel Feelings and illustrated by Tom Feelings, brings an introduction of the alphabet and authentic African culture to young children. As multicultural alphabet books go, Jambo Means Hello aims not just to teach kids the alphabet, but also to immerse them in a world unlike their own. The goal is that the child learns her ABCs and also walks away with a greater respect for people, places, and customs that aren't like those she usually knows.

This multicultural alphabet book is aimed toward the early elementary age group. This is an age group that already has a grasp on basic pronunciation of words and the alphabet and can now apply these linguistic skills to wrapping their tongues around the new syllabic structures and sounds found within the words presented in Jambo Means Hello. The primary notion of Jambo Means Hello is to bring children into an environment that richly and genuinely captures African life.

This book also introduces a foreign language. Swahili, a major world language to be sure, is an important language to anybody hoping to pursue a career in providing social services, medicine, or business connections to the peoples of Africa; while most elementary-aged children are not already planning their adult careers, books like Jambo Means Hello at the very least can help impart an appreciation of and respect for foreign languages and may inspire them to look outside of our own national borders.

The black and white imagery in this book is very different from most other children's books published in the late twentieth century. Unlike youth-genre titles lavishing young eyes with bold colors and in-your-face photos and pictures, Jambo Means Hello brings young readers rich yet simple black-and-white drawings that so handsomely depict everyday life in rural Central Africa. This, in so many ways, may encourage children to appreciate and enjoy art that does not necessarily use a palette of bright colors. In turn, this can broaden children's interest level to a number of different types of art forms.

Fostering respect for other races has been a goal for generations now. This book can help contribute success toward that end by introducing young eyes of a predominately white nation to the cultural roots of blacks. Because Jambo Means Hello shines black people and African culture in such an authentic, non-stereotypical light, children of all audiences will not be exposed to any shreds of racial degradation when enjoying this piece.

Finally, Jambo Means Hello can also introduce the concept of learning more about one's ancestral roots. Learning more about Swahili, glimpsing into depictions of daily life in rural Africa, and immersing oneself into scenes of African culture can inspire all readers of the book to trace back their own roots; this can be especially the case for black readers all over the Western world whose ancestors were displaced by slavery (and in many cases largely unable to reveal their African surnames or lineage before slavery).

Resources

My reading of Jambo Means Hello. Feelings, M. Puffin Pied Piper, 1974.