Tonight, I sat down with my daughter on my lap and read her this book. I love reading her books with diverse characters and positive representations of female leadership and power, this book fit the criteria perfectly. Makeda is a well rounded character that experiences both failure and success throughout the story, and, while the story is brief, the audience is given opportunity to see her grow.

The book is not only an entertaining story, but also creates opportunity for conversation, particularly in identifying where young readers exhibit "Makeda's Nine Laws of Leadership" or using the map at the beginning to get a better understanding of global geography (I am a high school teacher in Australia and I am constantly shocked that my students think Africa is one country and not a continent).

The illustrations in this book were fantastic, the characters were incredibly expressive and their joy, shock, pain, joy and sadness were evident in great detail.

I thoroughly enjoyed this read and my daughter and I will certainly be revisiting Makeda and Sheba in story times to come.

#WeNeedDiverseBooks #NetGalley