In October, we had a pair of special guest readers to Chocolate Storytime.  First was Martin Luther King Community Coalition’s annual MLK Essay and Art Contest, 2016 essay contest winner and 2017 essay contest finalist, middle schooler, Ian Sims, read the book, and kept the children very engaged.

Our second guest was author, Abrafi S. Sanyika, who wrote the book, “Makeda, Queen of Sheeba” illustrated by Roederick Vines.  A native of Chicago, Illinois, which was founded on the shore of Lake Michigan by African fur trader, Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable, Sanyika marched with Dr. King and studied cultural anthropology.  Sanyika is a lover of African and African-American history and culture, and is a founding member of The Egyptian Repertoire Company, a nonprofit educational foundation. Sanyika led the kids in movement exercises, and read excerpts from her book.  Although it is a long read, the kids and adults were very engaged as they learned about the Queen of Sheeba and other great historical figures.