Story for a Black Night

One dark night, an African father tells the story of another black night long ago when he, Momo, was a small boy—when he lay awake in his house in the bush, with his mother and grandmother and baby sister—when there came a knock on the door and evil crashed into his world. He tells of his strong, loving, gentle-hearted mother and her suffering to the very edge of death. And he tells of the old giant cottonwood tree that stood as a life spirit to them all. It is a story of beauty and tragedy, of a family confronting danger and dilemma, of a people enduring disorder and change. Its drama will hold the reader spellbound to the end.

“A riveting meditation on the moral choices that must be made in living.” Booklist, ALA, Starred Review

“A story of horror and beauty, of selfishness and heroic sacrifice and of complicated moral choice. . . . A story for reading together and talking about for a long time.” School Library Journal, Starred