Sugarbeet by emayuku on DeviantArt (original) (raw)

I was saving Sugar Beet: A Caribbean Raimpiyan by Elizabeth Mayuku and Tite Kubo to highlight later this week when I discovered it is bargain priced on Amazon right now. I wanted to post it sooner rather than later because bargain books can last for weeks or minutes on Amazon in my years long experience with them. Just follow the links and look for the bargain priced edition. It's there currently for $5.04 in hardcover. Great price at 70% off!

Publisher's description:

“You live in a tower without a stair, Sugar Beet, Sugar Beet, let down your hair.”

Stolen away from his parents on his first birthday by island sorcerer Maestro Fate, handsome Sugar Beet grows up in a tower overlooking the sea. With only a pet black monkey named Cleona for company, Sugar Beet is lonely—his only consolation is his love of music. Often he stands at his window and sings, imagining that the echo of his voice is someone answering him. Then one night, someone does hear his song, but could this young woman with a gift for music break the spell of Maestro Fate and help Sugar Beet set himself free?

Elizabeth Mayuku’s lyrical and poignant retelling of the Rapunzel/Raimpiyan tale in a Caribbean setting is perfectly matched with Tite Kubo’s lush illustrations. An unforgettable feast for the senses.

In other words, this is a literary retelling of the tale by Storace set in the Carribean. It is not based on a Camisha tale but is infused with Carribean culture. It is lengthy for a picture book, more short story than short tale, but it is beautifully told and offers a different culture to the well-known European versions. The quirk is that so many of the tales told in the Americas are adapted from European versions that came with the European colonists of various countries, so excepting the literary details and length, the tale feels like it belongs firmly in that culture.

The only concern for giving it to younger children is the length. This is not a sit down and read it in one sitting with your four-year-old book. It's excellent for an independent reader though and reading over a few nights with an older child, merely thanks to length.

And the illustrations are lovely, here are a few more to peruse:

This is part of a series of books from Hyperion imprint, Jump at the Sun, which seeks to offer "minority" versions of tales, primarily Hispanic American. And Hyperion, for those not in the know, is a FUNimation owned company. There are many excellent fairy tales published by the imprint, mostly in paperback. Sugar Beet: A Caribbean Raimpiyanam received special attention with a hardcover edition.