This section will analyze two of Julius Lester's most recent novels, Why Heaven is Far Away and What a Truly Cool World.
What a Truly Cool World
In What a Truly Cool World, Lester introduces Shaniqua, "the angel in charge of everybodys business." Dissatisfied with the appearance of the newly created earth, she encourages God to make improvements. After creating bushes, grass, and flowers from beautiful music that flows from his mouth, God is still unable to produce the perfect earth. It is only after Shaniqua uses her newly acquired singing talent that the world becomes perfect!
Lester uses slang phrases to present this witty tale.
"Bruce! he called out. "Yo, whats up Deity?"
In addition, Shaniqua's sassy comments make this story even more hilarious.
"Go on with your bad self, God!" She laughed with delight.
Cepeda's illustrations are awesome! The brightly colored paintings showcase different hues of African-American people. Shaniqua's sassy attitude is creatively depicted throughout the book. From her finger pointing to her placing her hands on her hips, Cepeda effectively illustrates her sass and pizzazz. Parents Choice described Cepeda's illustrations as being bold and inventive and significantly contributes to Lester's "truly cool world."
Why Heaven is Far Away
In Why Heaven is Far Away, Shaniqua resurfaces. She informs God that animals and humans are killing snakes. Alarmed by this problem, God gives Shaniqua poison to give the snakes so they can protect themselves. Her actions turn out to be a major mistake because the snakes start biting everyone! The victims escape to heaven (via connecting ladders) and invade on God and Mrs. Gods (Irene) peace! Needless to say, a quick, clever plan restores the calm!
Presented in extremely witty language, Lester creatively delivers this story which originates from his How the Snake Got Its Rattles.
"God walked into the throne room, the Hallelujah angelic choir of sixtillion voices started chanting, God God, he's our man, if he cant do it, nobody can!"
The text is extremely animated, lively, and plainly written. Cepeda's illustrations resemble brightly colored oil paintings. The paintings creatively reflect the personalities of each African-American character. Mrs. God (Irene) has dreadlocks and wears and African print dress. Shaniqua is pictured with her hair in a fancy upsweep and heels! The heaven and earth scenes are vibrant and full of eye-catching color!
Analysis
Both of these stories originate from folk tales. Lester does a remarkable job of fictionalizing each tale. He offers a unique modern approach by featuring slang terms and phrases in the text. It gives these tales an extremely comical twist.
"Close to evening, God stopped and looked at Shaniqua. Give me five!"
Each book has a creation theme. In What a Truly Cool World, the focus is on butterflies. Why is Heaven So Far Away focuses on snakes. I feel Lester is innovative in presenting light -hearted funny stories for children covering the topic of creation. These tales take the seriousness away from the subject and allows children to reflect upon creation as well as God differently.
Reviewers rave about Cepeda's illustrations. Publishers Weekly writes his quirky luminous oil paintings visually reinforce the hip cadence of Lesters narrative. Capeda's illustrations complement each text in a superb fashion. Each book is filled with illustrations that exude style, sass, pizzazz, and truly cool artwork!
