Olu and Greta

by Diana Ejaita, Diana Ejaita (Illustrator)

Overview

The geographical and cultural distance between two cousins is counteracted by the universalities of childhood and the dream of uniting.

Olu lives in Lagos, Nigeria; his cousin, Greta, lives in Milan, Italy. Though their lives may be different, their ways of living and playing are quite similar. They both roller skate; they both skip down the street; they both play with toy trains, trucks, and boats... and they both dream of meeting and being together. Debut author-illustrator Diana Ejaita references her own childhood and heritage to create a rich, poignant, and authentic portrayal of Nigeria, of Italy, and of the unity of childhood.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593384909
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	02/15/2022
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	1,050,049
Product dimensions:	10.60(w) x 9.60(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	330L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 5 Years

About the Author

Diana Ejaita works as an illustrator and textile designer in Berlin. What sets her illustrations apart is a combination of dramatically contrasting areas of black and white with soft patterns and textures that create images that portray the strength of femininity. Born in Cremona, Italy, her aesthetic pays homage to her lineage. "I am mostly into Central African culture; I love its literature, arts and textile traditions. But as a child of migration and of interracial parents, I am very driven by the issues of colonial/post-colonial effects, racial and gender discrimination, and identity research."

Editorial Reviews

★ 08/30/2021

In Ejaita’s absorbing picture book debut, Black cousins Olu and Greta live near Lagos, Nigeria, and in Milan, Italy, respectively, and “they have never met each other in person! How would they?” Ejaita highlights each child’s landscape and pet—Olu spends more time among flora with a turtle, while Greta tends to stay indoors with a cat. Still, the duo finds ways to connect despite the distance. Though they cannot reach one another by skating, parade, or spaceship, each cousin participates in the same activities, video-calls, and sends boxes containing “pieces of their lives to one another, instead.” Based on her personal experience of having a Nigerian father and Italian mother, Ejaita juxtaposes the cousins’ lives through spare prose and artful pencil and digital illustrations, featuring pastel-like colors against black backdrops, which also serve as the cousins’ skin tone. A salient reminder that love and connection transcend difference and distance. Ages 3–5. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

BEST BOOK (2021) --Kirkus

BEST BOOK OF 2022 -- CHILDREN'S BOOK COMMITTEE OF BANK STREET COLLEGE

EZRA JACK KEATS AWARD FINALIST

"A compelling bicontinental story of kinfolk, uniquely illustrated by an artist who’s lived the experience." --Kirkus (STARRED REVIEW)

"A salient reminder that love and connection transcend difference and distance." --Publishers Weekly (STARRED REVIEW)

"Though they’ve never met, two cousins — a boy in Lagos and a girl in Milan — celebrate the many things they have in common in this ebullient picture book by the Nigerian Italian illustrator, textile designer and New Yorker cover artist." -- The New York Times

"Viewers will get a visual treat and a reminder that they’re not alone across cultures." --The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"[Olu and Greta's] interactions are described in spare, accessible text and pictured in eye-catchingly distinctive digital and pencil illustrations." -- The Horn Book Inc.

From the Publisher

★ 2021-08-11
A tale of two cousins who find ways to be together despite the distance between them.

Olu lives in Lagos, Nigeria, and Greta lives in Milan, Italy. The narrator emphasizes that since they reside on different continents, they can’t get to each other by walking or skating, by parade or dancing, or several other means. While they could travel by car, boat, or plane, for now, they visit each other virtually and imagine what they might do together when they can meet in person. Ejaita created the illustrations on black paper with colored pencils and digital techniques, and because the characters’ faces and features are drawn on the unillustrated space on each page, Olu and Greta are literally black, with fine white lines that define their features. Perhaps this signals that just as the presence of the color black is ubiquitous in these visuals, Black people can and do live everywhere, countering the notion that people of African descent are monolithic. On nearly every spread, Greta and Olu engage in the same or similar activities, emphasizing that they have a close relationship despite living far apart. Some of Ejaita’s illustrations show the pencil lines, making them highly textured and almost tactile. Along with the dominant black backgrounds, Ejaita, herself of Nigerian and Italian heritage, uses a limited color palette for each spread, giving the book a retro look. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A compelling bicontinental story of kinfolk, uniquely illustrated by an artist who’s lived the experience. (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews