“Indigo Dreaming” by Dinah Johnson Gets Starred Kirkus Review

A Gullah child goes about a busy day. At daybreak (or day-clean in Gullah), the young Black girl glories in the sunrise over the sandy beach and wonders if there might be another girl like her somewhere “who spends every day beside the sea.” From here, an entire day of reflection steadily unspools. Could another girl also be flying along the sand or looking for sweetgrass? Does she eat the same foods or know the same stories? Can she catch rain on her tongue or hear music in the air? Does that girl fall asleep under the same moon and also dream of a girl like herself? Johnson weaves a deceptively simple poem that interlaces distinct slices of Gullah Geechee life with cultural threads that stretch to the Caribbean, Brazil, and all the way to Sierra Leone. Cunha’s illustrations capture a landscape that is as real as it is a dream, as momentous as it is mundane. Vibrant pastels are rendered into soft, open spreads, drawing readers into an intimate world that visually is reaching for its counterpart and into a story space that is most certainly big enough for two as it alternates between the protagonist and the girl she imagines. Fans of Barbara Lehman’s The Red Book (2004) will find similar play with reflection and wall-breaking here as well as that insistent tug at the idea of connection. Seasoned readers will also find some wonderful cultural context in the author’s note.