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The Jumbies #1
The Jumbies
The start of an exciting series filled with Caribbean folklore and daring adventure.
Corinne La Mer claims she isn’t afraid of anything. Not scorpions, not the boys who tease her, and certainly not jumbies. They’re just tricksters made up by parents to frighten their children. Then one night Corinne chases an agouti all the way into the forbidden forest, and shining yellow eyes follow her to the edge of the trees. They couldn’t belong to a jumbie. Or could they?
When Corinne spots a beautiful stranger at the market the very next day, she knows something extraordinary is about to happen. When this same beauty, called Severine, turns up at Corinne’s house, danger is in the air. Severine plans to claim the entire island for the jumbies. Corinne must call on her courage and her friends and learn to use ancient magic she didn’t know she possessed to stop Severine and to save her island home.
Corinne La Mer claims she isn’t afraid of anything. Not scorpions, not the boys who tease her, and certainly not jumbies. They’re just tricksters made up by parents to frighten their children. Then one night Corinne chases an agouti all the way into the forbidden forest, and shining yellow eyes follow her to the edge of the trees. They couldn’t belong to a jumbie. Or could they?
When Corinne spots a beautiful stranger at the market the very next day, she knows something extraordinary is about to happen. When this same beauty, called Severine, turns up at Corinne’s house, danger is in the air. Severine plans to claim the entire island for the jumbies. Corinne must call on her courage and her friends and learn to use ancient magic she didn’t know she possessed to stop Severine and to save her island home.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published April 28, 2015
About the author
Tracey Baptiste
43 books508 followersFrom Thompson-Gale: "Something About the Author"
I have always loved books. My favorite, was an oversized complete Grimm's Fairy Tales with beautiful illustrations, which I lost when my family moved to the United States. I was fascinated by the stories of the tailor who went up against a giant, and clever Hans, who wasn't so clever as well as the more traditional princess stories. When I was about thirteen, after spending a summer in the library reading Paul Zindel and Judy Blume among other authors, I announced to my best friend that I was going to be a writer. I didn't decide what I wanted to write until I read "The Friends" by Rosa Guy. I had recently moved to Brooklyn, NY, and the book spoke to my situation precisely. It remains one of my favorite books. I started writing for children then, and never stopped. I had early interest from publishers from the moment I began submitting stories at the age of 21, but I didn't put in the work necessary to become published until my late twenties. "Angel's Grace" was largely written while I was on maternity leave with my first child. It was inspired by my mother (the redhead) and my husband. Because I have very young children, I work when they sleep, which, sadly, is very little.
I have always loved books. My favorite, was an oversized complete Grimm's Fairy Tales with beautiful illustrations, which I lost when my family moved to the United States. I was fascinated by the stories of the tailor who went up against a giant, and clever Hans, who wasn't so clever as well as the more traditional princess stories. When I was about thirteen, after spending a summer in the library reading Paul Zindel and Judy Blume among other authors, I announced to my best friend that I was going to be a writer. I didn't decide what I wanted to write until I read "The Friends" by Rosa Guy. I had recently moved to Brooklyn, NY, and the book spoke to my situation precisely. It remains one of my favorite books. I started writing for children then, and never stopped. I had early interest from publishers from the moment I began submitting stories at the age of 21, but I didn't put in the work necessary to become published until my late twenties. "Angel's Grace" was largely written while I was on maternity leave with my first child. It was inspired by my mother (the redhead) and my husband. Because I have very young children, I work when they sleep, which, sadly, is very little.
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June 12, 2015
Fun little folktale based upon the Haitian story "The Magic Orange Tree."
Corinne is not afraid of much. After two of the village boys tie her dead mom's necklace around a agouti and it heads off into the woods she thinks nothing of chasing it down. Even if that forest is forbidden, the tales of the Jumbies have never bothered her. It's a story that adults made up to make the children behave. Isn't it?
She sees the yellow glowing eyes watching her from the forest but shakes it off as her imagination.
Then a beautiful woman shows up at the market where Corinne sells her oranges. The woman (Severine) heads right for the white witch and then she shows up at Corinne's house.
Corinne seems to have the sense that something is not right with Severine and tries to save her widowed father from her. But the Jumbies are restless.
This little tale is a fast paced read, younger aged kids are going to love it. It's just scary enough to give you chills up your spine and it has kids kicking ass and taking names.
PS You will want oranges after reading this book. Have some on hand.
Corinne is not afraid of much. After two of the village boys tie her dead mom's necklace around a agouti and it heads off into the woods she thinks nothing of chasing it down. Even if that forest is forbidden, the tales of the Jumbies have never bothered her. It's a story that adults made up to make the children behave. Isn't it?
She sees the yellow glowing eyes watching her from the forest but shakes it off as her imagination.
Then a beautiful woman shows up at the market where Corinne sells her oranges. The woman (Severine) heads right for the white witch and then she shows up at Corinne's house.
Corinne seems to have the sense that something is not right with Severine and tries to save her widowed father from her. But the Jumbies are restless.
This little tale is a fast paced read, younger aged kids are going to love it. It's just scary enough to give you chills up your spine and it has kids kicking ass and taking names.
PS You will want oranges after reading this book. Have some on hand.
November 7, 2020
“a seed is a promise, corinne, a guarantee. plant it and watch it grow.”
partially based on the haitian fairy tale the magic orange tree, this book tells the story of a young girl finding her magic, discovering her heritage, and fighting back against evil with her newfound friends.
this book is so imaginative.
i was completely absorbed in the setting and all these incredibly cool mythological creatures -- the titular jumbies -- from haitian folklore. even though baptiste keeps her prose easy-to-digest, the way she describes the island and its nature pulled me in, all five senses included.
the sea breeze and the salty air, the heat of the afternoons and the wafting smells of the village market, the clinging mud of swampy areas and the rich taste of the oranges corinne grows by her house… i’ve never been to the caribbean, but i could believe i was there.
corinne la mer is our protagonist: a driven girl who lives on the edge of the forest with her fisherman father, pierre. her mother’s passed away, but corinne eagerly hones the gardening skills her mom taught her when she was young.
one day, corinne goes into the forest to retrieve something that was lost -- the same forest all the islanders warn her against. and they did so with good cause, because something follows corinne out. something that soon sets its sights on her father, her house, and even her beloved orange tree.
first things first: the jumbies are amazing. they’re also SCARY as hell.
there were legitimately a couple of scenes that grossed me out. take the soucouyant, a ball of fire disguising itself as a little old lady that then reveals itself by discarding its human skin. or huge, werewolf-like creatures covered in chains. tiny kids that seem cute and want to play with you, but then you notice their feet are backward and they start screaming before trying to turn you into one of them.
seriously, baptiste is not pulling any punches. all of these jumbies love to practice trickery and mischief, sure, but they also hunt, abduct, and kill humans.
they feel like a real threat, and very much integrated in the world and the island itself. it’s not just our cast of spunky kids fighting them; the adults are seeing and combating these creatures, too. which made me realize i haven’t yet read a children’s book with a brutal battle raging against the supernatural smackdab in the middle of a village.
definitely points for Cool.
speaking of our cast of kids: next to corinne, there’s dru, an apprehensive girl with long braids and a big family, and orphan brothers malik and bouki, one who never stops talking and the other who never talks (but cooks up clever plans). they all find their respective strengths by the end of the story, and each have their own personal struggles and flaws.
once the kids team up, the story follows a classic folklore / myth structure of defeating evil within a certain time frame before all damage will be irreversible.
it’s a very enjoyable read for an adult, and one that i would’ve devoured as a kid.
if i had to point out a weakness, though, it’s probably in corinne’s family dynamics. i loved the ideas behind it, but thought the execution was a little lacking. i didn’t feel as much of a connection with her dad or who he was as a character mostly because we don’t spend a lot of time with him.
same goes for her mom. we’re told over and over how lovely she was and the sacrifices she made to build a family with pierre and corinne, but i never truly felt it. they mostly come across as representations of the sea (pierre, a fisherman) and the earth (nicole, a gardener), with corinne being the perfect mix of both.
severine, the jumbie who has it out for corinne, had the same sort of problems as well. though she feels a bit more like a fully realized character, i think her emotional core as well as the bond she attempts to create with corinne could have been explored in a deeper, more meaningful way.
corinne’s new friends were the ones i ended up caring about the most -- the orphan siblings, especially. their little side plot in finding a new place to live was very endearing.
in the end, though, if you throw genuinely frightening folklore in my lap as well as a lushly and vividly imagined setting, there’s very little i will complain about.
a perfect halloween read and a lovely modern reimagining of a classic fairytale. i’m already looking forward to picking up the sequels one day.
✎ 4.0 stars.
August 23, 2019
Amazing storytelling...
Corinne is a skeptical little girl who does not believe in the magical beings that inhabit the island along with her and her village people. But when they become larger than life itself, it becomes difficult for Corrine to deny the fact of their existence.
Masterfully written, this Haitian fairytale comes to life in vivid color as the author takes you on a well detailed journey of love and discovery. Very well put together and thought out this book is both easy to follow and a very enjoyable page-turner.
When you think of a strong female character you usually think of a female in a woman's body, not in a child's. However this book somehow pulls off both. The strong female lead is absolutely inspiring. And somehow the fact that she is a child makes her story even more believable. When faced with insurmountable odds a child will always stand their ground for the ones they love.
I absolutely enjoyed this book. I found it more than entertaining. It was delightfully unique and coming from an adult's perspective I enjoyed it as though it were an adult's novel even though it is written for those much younger (ages 8 - 14 approximately). I feel like many other adults would agree with me in appreciating the wonderful work done on this book.
Despite its fantastical premise the message is classic... love conquers all! ❤️ Beautiful book!
This is a book that I would recommend to children of all ages!
Or you can watch my review here:
https://youtu.be/H_4DRXpRPus
Corinne is a skeptical little girl who does not believe in the magical beings that inhabit the island along with her and her village people. But when they become larger than life itself, it becomes difficult for Corrine to deny the fact of their existence.
Masterfully written, this Haitian fairytale comes to life in vivid color as the author takes you on a well detailed journey of love and discovery. Very well put together and thought out this book is both easy to follow and a very enjoyable page-turner.
When you think of a strong female character you usually think of a female in a woman's body, not in a child's. However this book somehow pulls off both. The strong female lead is absolutely inspiring. And somehow the fact that she is a child makes her story even more believable. When faced with insurmountable odds a child will always stand their ground for the ones they love.
I absolutely enjoyed this book. I found it more than entertaining. It was delightfully unique and coming from an adult's perspective I enjoyed it as though it were an adult's novel even though it is written for those much younger (ages 8 - 14 approximately). I feel like many other adults would agree with me in appreciating the wonderful work done on this book.
Despite its fantastical premise the message is classic... love conquers all! ❤️ Beautiful book!
This is a book that I would recommend to children of all ages!
Or you can watch my review here:
https://youtu.be/H_4DRXpRPus
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February 7, 2022The spookening season begins 🎃🎃🎃🎃
“A seed is a promise, Corinne, a guarantee. Plant it and watch it grow.”
So What’s It About?
Corinne La Mer lives with her beloved father, growing oranges for a living on their island home. Of course she has heard stories of the monstrous jumbies that lurk in the forgotten places of the island, but she believes they are just stories made up to frighten children. But when a beautiful stranger shows up in the market one day, she will be forced to rethink her assumptions about the jumbies and do all that’s in her power to save everything she holds dear.
What I Thought
This is a middle grade retelling of the Haitian folk tale “The Magic Orange Tree,” and as is the case with most of the fairy tale/folk tale retellings I’ve read this year I think the author has done a great job of maintaining the story’s traditional elements while also adding her own touches and flourishes to bring it to life as a novel.
I read it at the beginning of October, hoping that it’d be a good start to the Halloween season. I can say that it definitely succeeded in that regard! As befits a book with this title, I think the jumbies are the stars of the shows here, with each one featuring its own twisted mythology and devious magic. They’re wonderful monsters and their inclusion leads to the creation of a story that is brimming with spooky atmosphere.
One thing that’s particularly interesting is the way that Haiti’s history is incorporated into the story of the jumbies and the townspeople – the jumbies were forced out of their homes by the process of the island being colonized. The book isn’t afraid to ask the question of how these two groups are supposed to live together: the original inhabitants who were forced to the sidelines and the descendants of slaves who were brought to this land unwillingly. It’s an excellent question and I have a lot of respect for Baptiste deciding that her young readers were smart enough to grapple with it!
“A seed is a promise, Corinne, a guarantee. Plant it and watch it grow.”
So What’s It About?
Corinne La Mer lives with her beloved father, growing oranges for a living on their island home. Of course she has heard stories of the monstrous jumbies that lurk in the forgotten places of the island, but she believes they are just stories made up to frighten children. But when a beautiful stranger shows up in the market one day, she will be forced to rethink her assumptions about the jumbies and do all that’s in her power to save everything she holds dear.
What I Thought
This is a middle grade retelling of the Haitian folk tale “The Magic Orange Tree,” and as is the case with most of the fairy tale/folk tale retellings I’ve read this year I think the author has done a great job of maintaining the story’s traditional elements while also adding her own touches and flourishes to bring it to life as a novel.
I read it at the beginning of October, hoping that it’d be a good start to the Halloween season. I can say that it definitely succeeded in that regard! As befits a book with this title, I think the jumbies are the stars of the shows here, with each one featuring its own twisted mythology and devious magic. They’re wonderful monsters and their inclusion leads to the creation of a story that is brimming with spooky atmosphere.
One thing that’s particularly interesting is the way that Haiti’s history is incorporated into the story of the jumbies and the townspeople – the jumbies were forced out of their homes by the process of the island being colonized. The book isn’t afraid to ask the question of how these two groups are supposed to live together: the original inhabitants who were forced to the sidelines and the descendants of slaves who were brought to this land unwillingly. It’s an excellent question and I have a lot of respect for Baptiste deciding that her young readers were smart enough to grapple with it!
July 23, 2020
3.5 Stars
This was a great start to a middle grade series. The Jumbies focuses on the experiences of a young girl by the name of Corrine who lives with her father. Corrine is known for growing the best oranges on the island. While at the market she encounters a woman by the name of Severine who ends up "bewitching" her father. Although she doesn't believe in the legends of the Jumbies, Corrine must start to consider their existence in order to save her father.
There were a few things that I really enjoyed about this book. First, it's immersed in Caribbean folklore which I LOVE. I think that Black children often grow up reading and hearing about European folktales and fairytales and don't really receive the opportunity to read books that are related to their cultural heritage. Tracey Baptiste is from Trinidad and I'm glad that she brought her experience in hearing about the Jumbies to readers of all ages and backgrounds. I found the history of the Jumbies to be interesting and it made the story so engaging. I found the story to be fast paced with lots of action that a middle grade audience would enjoy. I must admit that I didn't see the big reveal coming that Baptiste had planned for the end of the novel so I was just as surprised as everyone else. There was also this big focus on friendship and learning that it's okay to depend on friends in a time of need. Corrine is not a perfect character and there were moments when she had to learn to trust and rely on help from her friends instead of always trying to do everything by herself. It was a great moment of realization for both Corrine and myself as a reader. I'm a very independent person, but a lot of experiences have taught me how to also rely on friends and family in times of need.
I wanted to give the book 4 stars, but there were a few aspects of the book that needed improvement. While I found the plot to be fast paced and engaging, I thought that the character development needed a little more work namely in the form of Pierre, Corrine's father. For so much to happen in the book that closely related to his character, he felt 2-dimensional. I wanted to know more about him and more about his relationship with Corrine's mother. Everything felt like it was surface level so I couldn't connect with him as a character. So when everything began to happen with Severine, I found myself not caring as much as I should have. I also found the writing to be a little strange mainly when Baptiste would change perspectives from chapter to chapter. There wasn't always this clear delineation of whose perspective was the most reliable and important. Sometimes I felt like we were just changing perspectives for the sake of changing perspectives and it often came across as abrupt and choppy and really disturbed the flow of her writing.
Overall, I really enjoyed this novel and I definitely recommend that it's listened to on audio because it gives you a cool experience with the text.
This was a great start to a middle grade series. The Jumbies focuses on the experiences of a young girl by the name of Corrine who lives with her father. Corrine is known for growing the best oranges on the island. While at the market she encounters a woman by the name of Severine who ends up "bewitching" her father. Although she doesn't believe in the legends of the Jumbies, Corrine must start to consider their existence in order to save her father.
There were a few things that I really enjoyed about this book. First, it's immersed in Caribbean folklore which I LOVE. I think that Black children often grow up reading and hearing about European folktales and fairytales and don't really receive the opportunity to read books that are related to their cultural heritage. Tracey Baptiste is from Trinidad and I'm glad that she brought her experience in hearing about the Jumbies to readers of all ages and backgrounds. I found the history of the Jumbies to be interesting and it made the story so engaging. I found the story to be fast paced with lots of action that a middle grade audience would enjoy. I must admit that I didn't see the big reveal coming that Baptiste had planned for the end of the novel so I was just as surprised as everyone else. There was also this big focus on friendship and learning that it's okay to depend on friends in a time of need. Corrine is not a perfect character and there were moments when she had to learn to trust and rely on help from her friends instead of always trying to do everything by herself. It was a great moment of realization for both Corrine and myself as a reader. I'm a very independent person, but a lot of experiences have taught me how to also rely on friends and family in times of need.
I wanted to give the book 4 stars, but there were a few aspects of the book that needed improvement. While I found the plot to be fast paced and engaging, I thought that the character development needed a little more work namely in the form of Pierre, Corrine's father. For so much to happen in the book that closely related to his character, he felt 2-dimensional. I wanted to know more about him and more about his relationship with Corrine's mother. Everything felt like it was surface level so I couldn't connect with him as a character. So when everything began to happen with Severine, I found myself not caring as much as I should have. I also found the writing to be a little strange mainly when Baptiste would change perspectives from chapter to chapter. There wasn't always this clear delineation of whose perspective was the most reliable and important. Sometimes I felt like we were just changing perspectives for the sake of changing perspectives and it often came across as abrupt and choppy and really disturbed the flow of her writing.
Overall, I really enjoyed this novel and I definitely recommend that it's listened to on audio because it gives you a cool experience with the text.
April 28, 2015
“All great literature is one of two stories; a man goes on a journey or a stranger comes to town.” So sayeth Leo Tolstoy (at least in theory). Regardless of whether or not it’s actually true, it is fun to slot books into the different categories. And if I were to take Tracey Baptiste’s middle grade novel The Jumbies with the intention of designating it one type of story or another, I think I’d have to go with the latter definition. A stranger comes to town. Not quite true though, is it? For you see, in this particular book the stranger isn’t coming to town so much as infesting it. And does she still count as a stranger when she, technically was there first? It sounds a bit weird to say, “All great literature is one of two stories; a man goes on a journey or a creature comes to a village where it is the people who are the strangers” but you could make a case for that being the tale The Jumbies brings to light. Far more than just your average spooky supernatural story, Baptiste uses the underpinnings of a classic folktale to take a closer look at colonization, rebellion, and what it truly takes to share the burden of tolerating the “other”. Plus there are monsters. Gotta love the monsters.
Corinne La Mer isn’t what you might call a superstitious sort. Even when she chases an agouti into a forbidden forest she’s able to justify to herself why it looked as though a pair of yellow eyes followed her out. If she told other people about those eyes they’d say she ran across a jumbie, one of the original spooky denizens of her Caribbean island. Corinne's a realist, though, so surely there's another answer. And she probably would have put the whole incident out of her mind anyway, had Severine not appeared in her hut one day. Severine is beautiful and cunning. She’s been alone for a long long time and she’s in the market for a loving family. Trouble is, what Severine wants she usually gets, and Corinne may find that she and her father are getting ensnared in a dangerous creature’s loving control – whether they want to be or not. A tale based loosely on the Haitian folktale “The Magic Orange Tree.”
A bit of LOST, a bit of Beloved, and a bit of The Tempest. That’s the unusual recipe I’d concoct if I were trying to describe this book to adults. If I were trying to describe it to kids, however, I’d have some difficulty. Our nation’s library and bookstore shelves aren’t exactly overflowing with children’s novels set in the Caribbean. Actually, year or so ago I was asked to help co-create a booklist of Caribbean children’s literature with my librarian colleagues. We did pretty well in the picture book department. It was the novels that suffered in comparison. Generally speaking, if you want Caribbean middle grade novels you’d better be a fan of suffering. Whether it’s earthquakes ( Serafina’s Promise), escape ( Tonight By Sea), or the slave trade ( My Name Is Not Angelica) Caribbean children’s literature is rarely a happy affair. And fantasy? I’m not going to say there aren’t any middle grade novels out there that make full and proper use of folklore, but none come immediately to mind. Now Ms. Baptiste debuted a decade ago with Angel’s Grace (called by Horn Book, “a promising first novel” with “An evocative setting and a focused narrative”). In the intervening ten years we hadn’t heard much from her. Fortunately The Jumbies proves she’s most certainly back in the game and with a book that has few comparable peers.
My knowledge of the Caribbean would fit in a teacup best enjoyed by a flea. What I know pretty much comes from the children’s books I read. So I am not qualified to judge The Jumbies on its accuracy to its setting or folkloric roots. When Ms. Baptiste includes what appears to be a family with roots in India in the narrative, I go along with it. Then, when the book isn’t looking, I sneak off to Wikipedia (yes, even librarians use Wikipedia from time to time) and read that “Indo-Trinidadian and Tobagonian are nationals of Trinidad and Tobago of India ancestry.” We Americans often walk around with this perception that ours is the only ethnically diverse nation. We have the gall to be surprised when we discover that other nations have multicultural (for lack of a better word) histories of their own. So it is that Corinne befriends Dru, an Indio-Trinidadian with a too large family.
The writing itself makes for a fun read. I wouldn’t label it overly descriptive or lyrical, necessarily, but it gets the job done. Besides, there are little moments in the text that I thought were rather nice. Lines like “Corinne remembered when they had buried her mama in the ground like a seed.” Or, on a creepier note, “A muddy tear spilled onto her cheek, then sprouted legs and crawled down her body.” What I really took to, more than anything else, was the central theme of “us” and “them”. Which is to say, there is no “us” and “them”, really. It’s a relationship. As a local witch says later in the story, “Our kind? What do you know about our kind and their kind, little one? You can’t even tell the difference.” Later she says it once again. “Their kind, your kind, is there a difference?” This is an island where the humans arrives and pushed out the otherworldly natives. When the natives fight back the humans are appalled. And as we read the story, we see that we are the oppressors here, to a very real extent. These jumbies might fight and hit and hurt and steal children, but they have their reasons. Even if we’ve chosen to forget what those might be.
I have a problem. I can’t read books for kids like I used to. Time was, when I first started in this business, that I could read a book like The Jumbies precisely as the author intended. I approached the material with all the wide-eyed wonder of a 10-year-old girl. Then I had to go and give birth and what happens? Suddenly I find that everything’s different and that I’m now reading the books as a parent. Scenes in The Jumbies that wouldn’t have so much as pierced my armor when I was younger now stab me directly through the heart. For example, there is a moment in this book when Dru recounts seeing her friend Allan stolen by the douens. As his mother called his name he turned to her, but his feet faced the other way, walking him into the forest. That just killed me. Kids? They’ll find it nicely creepy, but I don’t know that they’ll not entirely understand the true horror the parents encounter so that later in the book when a peace is to be reached, they have a real and active reason for continuing to pursue war. In this way the book’s final resolution almost feel too easy. You understand that the humans will agree on a peace if only because the jumbies have them outnumbered and outmanned. However, the hate and fear is going to be lingering for a long long time to come. This would be an excellent text to use to teach conflict resolution, come to think of it.
In her Author’s Note at the back of the book, Tracey Baptiste writes, “I grew up reading European fairy tales that were nothing like the Caribbean jumbie stories I listened to on my island of Trinidad. There were no jumbie fairy-tale books, though I wished there were. This story is my attempt at filling that gap in fairy-tale lore.” And fill it she does. Entrancing and engaging, frightening but never slacking, Baptiste enters an all-new folktale adaptation into our regular fantasy lore. Best suited for the kids seeking lore where creatures hide in the shadows of trees, but where they’re unlike any creatures the kids have seen before. Original. Haunting.
For ages 9-12.
Corinne La Mer isn’t what you might call a superstitious sort. Even when she chases an agouti into a forbidden forest she’s able to justify to herself why it looked as though a pair of yellow eyes followed her out. If she told other people about those eyes they’d say she ran across a jumbie, one of the original spooky denizens of her Caribbean island. Corinne's a realist, though, so surely there's another answer. And she probably would have put the whole incident out of her mind anyway, had Severine not appeared in her hut one day. Severine is beautiful and cunning. She’s been alone for a long long time and she’s in the market for a loving family. Trouble is, what Severine wants she usually gets, and Corinne may find that she and her father are getting ensnared in a dangerous creature’s loving control – whether they want to be or not. A tale based loosely on the Haitian folktale “The Magic Orange Tree.”
A bit of LOST, a bit of Beloved, and a bit of The Tempest. That’s the unusual recipe I’d concoct if I were trying to describe this book to adults. If I were trying to describe it to kids, however, I’d have some difficulty. Our nation’s library and bookstore shelves aren’t exactly overflowing with children’s novels set in the Caribbean. Actually, year or so ago I was asked to help co-create a booklist of Caribbean children’s literature with my librarian colleagues. We did pretty well in the picture book department. It was the novels that suffered in comparison. Generally speaking, if you want Caribbean middle grade novels you’d better be a fan of suffering. Whether it’s earthquakes ( Serafina’s Promise), escape ( Tonight By Sea), or the slave trade ( My Name Is Not Angelica) Caribbean children’s literature is rarely a happy affair. And fantasy? I’m not going to say there aren’t any middle grade novels out there that make full and proper use of folklore, but none come immediately to mind. Now Ms. Baptiste debuted a decade ago with Angel’s Grace (called by Horn Book, “a promising first novel” with “An evocative setting and a focused narrative”). In the intervening ten years we hadn’t heard much from her. Fortunately The Jumbies proves she’s most certainly back in the game and with a book that has few comparable peers.
My knowledge of the Caribbean would fit in a teacup best enjoyed by a flea. What I know pretty much comes from the children’s books I read. So I am not qualified to judge The Jumbies on its accuracy to its setting or folkloric roots. When Ms. Baptiste includes what appears to be a family with roots in India in the narrative, I go along with it. Then, when the book isn’t looking, I sneak off to Wikipedia (yes, even librarians use Wikipedia from time to time) and read that “Indo-Trinidadian and Tobagonian are nationals of Trinidad and Tobago of India ancestry.” We Americans often walk around with this perception that ours is the only ethnically diverse nation. We have the gall to be surprised when we discover that other nations have multicultural (for lack of a better word) histories of their own. So it is that Corinne befriends Dru, an Indio-Trinidadian with a too large family.
The writing itself makes for a fun read. I wouldn’t label it overly descriptive or lyrical, necessarily, but it gets the job done. Besides, there are little moments in the text that I thought were rather nice. Lines like “Corinne remembered when they had buried her mama in the ground like a seed.” Or, on a creepier note, “A muddy tear spilled onto her cheek, then sprouted legs and crawled down her body.” What I really took to, more than anything else, was the central theme of “us” and “them”. Which is to say, there is no “us” and “them”, really. It’s a relationship. As a local witch says later in the story, “Our kind? What do you know about our kind and their kind, little one? You can’t even tell the difference.” Later she says it once again. “Their kind, your kind, is there a difference?” This is an island where the humans arrives and pushed out the otherworldly natives. When the natives fight back the humans are appalled. And as we read the story, we see that we are the oppressors here, to a very real extent. These jumbies might fight and hit and hurt and steal children, but they have their reasons. Even if we’ve chosen to forget what those might be.
I have a problem. I can’t read books for kids like I used to. Time was, when I first started in this business, that I could read a book like The Jumbies precisely as the author intended. I approached the material with all the wide-eyed wonder of a 10-year-old girl. Then I had to go and give birth and what happens? Suddenly I find that everything’s different and that I’m now reading the books as a parent. Scenes in The Jumbies that wouldn’t have so much as pierced my armor when I was younger now stab me directly through the heart. For example, there is a moment in this book when Dru recounts seeing her friend Allan stolen by the douens. As his mother called his name he turned to her, but his feet faced the other way, walking him into the forest. That just killed me. Kids? They’ll find it nicely creepy, but I don’t know that they’ll not entirely understand the true horror the parents encounter so that later in the book when a peace is to be reached, they have a real and active reason for continuing to pursue war. In this way the book’s final resolution almost feel too easy. You understand that the humans will agree on a peace if only because the jumbies have them outnumbered and outmanned. However, the hate and fear is going to be lingering for a long long time to come. This would be an excellent text to use to teach conflict resolution, come to think of it.
In her Author’s Note at the back of the book, Tracey Baptiste writes, “I grew up reading European fairy tales that were nothing like the Caribbean jumbie stories I listened to on my island of Trinidad. There were no jumbie fairy-tale books, though I wished there were. This story is my attempt at filling that gap in fairy-tale lore.” And fill it she does. Entrancing and engaging, frightening but never slacking, Baptiste enters an all-new folktale adaptation into our regular fantasy lore. Best suited for the kids seeking lore where creatures hide in the shadows of trees, but where they’re unlike any creatures the kids have seen before. Original. Haunting.
For ages 9-12.
February 9, 2021
I hope this is the kind of book that will make your eyebrows shoot up wen you hear a noise at night. Well author Tracey Baptiste, that is exactly what happened after I finished reading this book- I was on edge the entire night.
WARNING: If you are a fraidy cat like me, do not read this book at night.
I have always said that Trini Folklore slaps differently and in reading this book I was sufficiently reminded of this. In reading this book I thought, “this cannot be a book for children because…”when I tell you, the amount of goosebumps I got reading this.
Jumbies which is set in Trinidad, we meet Corinne La Mer who is currently living with her father after the untimely loss of her mother. Corinne is not afraid of anything, not frogs, spiders, jumbies or any other ansani story that sends her friends running scared. One day, after running after a frog into a “forbid Forrest” Corrinne comes out, bringing more trouble the village will see in all their years.
First let me say of very well written this book is. Tracy Baptiste knows how to tell a convincing tale based on the heart palpitations and goosebumps I got while reading this. I felt Corrinne was a believable and truly the heroine you want to cheer for. While I have often heard of these folklores, I cannot say I have read a children’s book that explores it so well. Having grown up reading Hansel and Gretel, reading this as an adult made me wish I had read it as a child.
This is such a well done book, cannot wait for book 2.
WARNING: If you are a fraidy cat like me, do not read this book at night.
I have always said that Trini Folklore slaps differently and in reading this book I was sufficiently reminded of this. In reading this book I thought, “this cannot be a book for children because…”when I tell you, the amount of goosebumps I got reading this.
Jumbies which is set in Trinidad, we meet Corinne La Mer who is currently living with her father after the untimely loss of her mother. Corinne is not afraid of anything, not frogs, spiders, jumbies or any other ansani story that sends her friends running scared. One day, after running after a frog into a “forbid Forrest” Corrinne comes out, bringing more trouble the village will see in all their years.
First let me say of very well written this book is. Tracy Baptiste knows how to tell a convincing tale based on the heart palpitations and goosebumps I got while reading this. I felt Corrinne was a believable and truly the heroine you want to cheer for. While I have often heard of these folklores, I cannot say I have read a children’s book that explores it so well. Having grown up reading Hansel and Gretel, reading this as an adult made me wish I had read it as a child.
This is such a well done book, cannot wait for book 2.
July 19, 2018
#RWLChallenge: A book inspired by Caribbean folklore (own voices)
This book is a great (literary) palette cleanser. It is definitely age appropriate but is still worth reading at any age. I love the way Baptiste writes action sequences. I removed one star for small things that irritated me, like the constant use of "brother."
I look forward to reading the sequel, and I do hope she makes it into a trilogy. I am truly excited to see Caribbean folklore so well done. I wish I had these stories when I was younger.
This book is a great (literary) palette cleanser. It is definitely age appropriate but is still worth reading at any age. I love the way Baptiste writes action sequences. I removed one star for small things that irritated me, like the constant use of "brother."
I look forward to reading the sequel, and I do hope she makes it into a trilogy. I am truly excited to see Caribbean folklore so well done. I wish I had these stories when I was younger.
October 16, 2020
Full review in my video: https://youtu.be/FjYpTWFbt4I
Timestamps for titles in description!
Timestamps for titles in description!
December 24, 2014
*NetGalley book review*
Great Caribbean folklore story with a lot of twists and a not too spooky. Very well written characters that grow through out the story. I enjoyed this fast read very much.
Great Caribbean folklore story with a lot of twists and a not too spooky. Very well written characters that grow through out the story. I enjoyed this fast read very much.
July 10, 2017
Does anyone else crave oranges after reading this book? LOL! This is a great story, and I think kids will love it! While it deals with some creepy/scary things, I don't feel that it is full horror. It reads more fantasy/folklore to me. I loved the kids, I loved the creatures, I loved the little songs, and that ending!!!!! The way the ending plays out is so cool...super cool!!! I love that we get little snippets of what everyone is doing...oh, the goosebumps!!! It needs to be a movie!!! I can't wait for number 2!!! Now...where to find some oranges...;).
August 25, 2023
Middle grade horror is always tricky, that fine line of scary but not too scary.
I feel like this author walked that line beautifully!
It was a little confusing at points and I wish the back story had been more fleshed out.
The author grew up in Trinidad and mentions that jumbies are a well know story told to children there. For me, having no prior knowledge for these badies, I needed more history on them.
There were a lot of different kinds of jumbies thrown into this book without much background for what they were or why they were scary.
Still an enjoyable plot, just wish it had more of the folklore to go with it.
I feel like this author walked that line beautifully!
It was a little confusing at points and I wish the back story had been more fleshed out.
The author grew up in Trinidad and mentions that jumbies are a well know story told to children there. For me, having no prior knowledge for these badies, I needed more history on them.
There were a lot of different kinds of jumbies thrown into this book without much background for what they were or why they were scary.
Still an enjoyable plot, just wish it had more of the folklore to go with it.
March 31, 2023
موقعی که این مجموعه برای ترجمه بهم پیشنهاد شد، چیزی که برام جذاب بود و متقاعدم کرد کار رو قبول کنم، کلیشهکشی بود. ما به قصههای پریان اروپایی عادت داریم و نویسندهی این مجموعه هم در بچگی همینطور بوده. اما در فرهنگ جامعهای که توش بزرگ میشده، شاهد حکایتهایی با درونمایهی مشابه اما با موجودات تخیلی متفاوت بوده. به همین دلیل پیش خودش گفته چرا قصهای با این شخصیتهای خیالی ننویسم؟
مخاطب اصلی این کتاب و مجموعه بهنظرم بچههایی هستن که بین 10 تا 14 سال سن دارن. داستان روند سریعی داره و فصلهاش کوتاهه؛ امروزه، برای بچههایی که در این سن هستن، این نکته بهن��رم کلیدیه، چون هرچی بیشتر میگذره، بچهها کمتر حوصلهی متنهای طولانی رو دارن. توی این کتاب، خوندن هر فصل خیلی کم وقت میگیره و مدام آدم رو تشویق به ادامه دادن میکنه.
توی داستان با موجودات افسانههای کشورهای حوزهی دریای کارائیب و فرهنگشون آشنا میشیم که برای من واقعاً جذاب بود. احتمالاً بچهها هم خوششون بیاد، چون موجودات تخیلی داستان شبیه اونایی نیستن که توی داستانهای دیگه میخونن.
توی داستان روابط عاشقانه و رومنس در کار نیست، که با توجه به سن شخصیتهای داستان طبیعیه و در عوض روی مفهوم «دوستی» و روابط بین افراد، چه بین کورین و دوستانش و چ�� بین کورین و پدرش، خیلی خوب مانور داده میشه و البته گلدرشت هم نیست.
داستان شخصیتهای متنوعی داره که هیچکدوم شبیه دیگری نیستن و در واقع همدیگه رو کامل میکنن. همین باعث میشه حوصلهسربر نباشن.
دیالوگهاش بعضی جاها بامزه است و احتمالاً لبخند رو به لب خواننده بیاره.
ممکنه داستان ترسناک بهنظر بیاد، اما اونقدرها ترسناک نیست (حتی بهنظرم برای جامعهی هدفش). قصهی سرراستی داره که توی دنیای جذابش، روان روایت میشه و اضافهگویی هم نداره.
در پایان اینکه نویسنده توی لایههای زیرین کتاب موضوعات مهمی رو مطرح میکنه. داستانی که میتونه حکایت نمادینی از ارتباط انسان با طبیعت باشه و اینکه چطور میتونه همزیستی مسالمتآمیزی با طبیعت داشته باشه، یا حتی حکایت نمادینی از مهاجرانی باشه که به سرزمینی میان و اونجا رو به تصرف خودشون در میارن و طرح این سوال که چط��ر باید با ساکنین اولیهی اون سرزمین رفتار کنن؟ باید اونا رو قلع و قمع کنن؟ شبیه اونا بشن؟ اونا رو شبیه خودشون کنن؟ یا با هم کنار بیان؟ این سوالات چیزهاییه که توی ناخودآگاه مخاطب شکل میگیره و شاید در آینده مخاطب دنبال پاسخ چنین سوالاتی در دنیای اطراف خودش هم بگرده. پاسخهایی که بهنظرم میتونه زندگی نسلهای بعد رو کمرنجتر کنه.
همین!
مخاطب اصلی این کتاب و مجموعه بهنظرم بچههایی هستن که بین 10 تا 14 سال سن دارن. داستان روند سریعی داره و فصلهاش کوتاهه؛ امروزه، برای بچههایی که در این سن هستن، این نکته بهن��رم کلیدیه، چون هرچی بیشتر میگذره، بچهها کمتر حوصلهی متنهای طولانی رو دارن. توی این کتاب، خوندن هر فصل خیلی کم وقت میگیره و مدام آدم رو تشویق به ادامه دادن میکنه.
توی داستان با موجودات افسانههای کشورهای حوزهی دریای کارائیب و فرهنگشون آشنا میشیم که برای من واقعاً جذاب بود. احتمالاً بچهها هم خوششون بیاد، چون موجودات تخیلی داستان شبیه اونایی نیستن که توی داستانهای دیگه میخونن.
توی داستان روابط عاشقانه و رومنس در کار نیست، که با توجه به سن شخصیتهای داستان طبیعیه و در عوض روی مفهوم «دوستی» و روابط بین افراد، چه بین کورین و دوستانش و چ�� بین کورین و پدرش، خیلی خوب مانور داده میشه و البته گلدرشت هم نیست.
داستان شخصیتهای متنوعی داره که هیچکدوم شبیه دیگری نیستن و در واقع همدیگه رو کامل میکنن. همین باعث میشه حوصلهسربر نباشن.
دیالوگهاش بعضی جاها بامزه است و احتمالاً لبخند رو به لب خواننده بیاره.
ممکنه داستان ترسناک بهنظر بیاد، اما اونقدرها ترسناک نیست (حتی بهنظرم برای جامعهی هدفش). قصهی سرراستی داره که توی دنیای جذابش، روان روایت میشه و اضافهگویی هم نداره.
در پایان اینکه نویسنده توی لایههای زیرین کتاب موضوعات مهمی رو مطرح میکنه. داستانی که میتونه حکایت نمادینی از ارتباط انسان با طبیعت باشه و اینکه چطور میتونه همزیستی مسالمتآمیزی با طبیعت داشته باشه، یا حتی حکایت نمادینی از مهاجرانی باشه که به سرزمینی میان و اونجا رو به تصرف خودشون در میارن و طرح این سوال که چط��ر باید با ساکنین اولیهی اون سرزمین رفتار کنن؟ باید اونا رو قلع و قمع کنن؟ شبیه اونا بشن؟ اونا رو شبیه خودشون کنن؟ یا با هم کنار بیان؟ این سوالات چیزهاییه که توی ناخودآگاه مخاطب شکل میگیره و شاید در آینده مخاطب دنبال پاسخ چنین سوالاتی در دنیای اطراف خودش هم بگرده. پاسخهایی که بهنظرم میتونه زندگی نسلهای بعد رو کمرنجتر کنه.
همین!
کورین زمانی را به یاد میآورد که مادرش را مانند بذری در زمین خاک میکردند. چهار سالش بود و مادرش به او یاد داده بود چطور چیزی را بکارد. موقع خاکسپاری آهسته از پدرش پرسیده بود: «بابا، چقدر طول میکشه تا بزرگ بشه؟» اما نگاه پدرش به او فهماند که قرار نیست در ازای هرچه در زمین خاک میکنند، چیزی به آنها برگردانده شود. یک سال بعد درخت پرتقال کوچکی کنار قبر ظاهر شد و از آن زمان به بعد هر سال شکوفه میداد، اما اصلاً شبیه مادر داشتن نبود.
April 22, 2023
داستان در مورد دختریه به اسم کورین که با پدرش تو یه جزیره در حاشیهی جنگلی اسرارآمیز زندگی میکنه...
من عاشق فضای جادویی توی داستانهام و این کتاب روح جادوخواه منو به وجد میآورد! داستانپردازی، شخصیتپردازی و فضاسازی خوبی داشت. میشد آدم خودش رو تو اون محیط کنار اون آدما تصور کنه و چند ساعتی از دنیای اطرافش جدا بشه.
شخصیت کورین و ترکیب دلبسته بودن در عین استقلالش رو دوست داشتم. روند دوستی جاری در کتاب و اینکه به هم اعتماد و کمک کنن، میتونه الهامبخش باشه. در مج��وع دوستش داشتم.
+ ترجمهی کتاب واقعا خوب و روون بود.
من عاشق فضای جادویی توی داستانهام و این کتاب روح جادوخواه منو به وجد میآورد! داستانپردازی، شخصیتپردازی و فضاسازی خوبی داشت. میشد آدم خودش رو تو اون محیط کنار اون آدما تصور کنه و چند ساعتی از دنیای اطرافش جدا بشه.
شخصیت کورین و ترکیب دلبسته بودن در عین استقلالش رو دوست داشتم. روند دوستی جاری در کتاب و اینکه به هم اعتماد و کمک کنن، میتونه الهامبخش باشه. در مج��وع دوستش داشتم.
+ ترجمهی کتاب واقعا خوب و روون بود.
January 9, 2023
I love Middle Grade horror, and I'm always pleasantly surprised at how well MG authors are at telling a scary, innovative story. As a hobby, I study folklore and legends, so I was curious to read a book based on Afro-Caribbean folklore. The Jumbies opened up a door into another world for me. Let me just say, this book is creepy. It's the kind of scary that gets under your skin, an uncanny kind of quiet horror. It's about the things that rustle and skulk around in the night.
I have always had a complicated relationship with nighttime. I enjoy the quiet it of it, the way the colors fade to blue and purple. The luminous beauty of a clear night where you can see the moon and the stars, and feel an incredible sense of peace and oneness with the natural world. Even the smells are different at night. I also sleep better when it's dark. But on the other hand, those fears that lurk at the back of your head and don't really get your attention during the day start to insinuate themselves into the forefront of your consciousness when the sun goes down. All the dark fairy tales, the urban legends, and the lore passed down through your family, not to mention imagery from movies and tv come back to your mind. In this book, it's about a young girl named Corinne who is very connected to the natural world on the small island where she lives. People always say not to go in the woods because of the creatures that live in there and will harm her, called jumbies. She has thus far, obeyed the edict, but when some boys steal the necklace her mother gave her, she had to go into the woods to get it back from the animal whose tail they tied it to. Once there, her presence awakens an ancient force determined to take back the island that was stolen by humans from their original inhabitants--the jumbies.
There's a beautiful juxtaposition between the colorful slice of life on a sleepy Caribbean isle and the sinister, chilling antics of the weird and visceral bestiary of creatures that makeup the jumbies. A short cast of characters allows the readers to get to know them in a deeper level and to flesh out the complexities of Corinne's existence, opening up a reality she never suspected was there all the time. Her loving relationship with her father is threatened by an enemy who takes over and insinuates their way into their lives in a way that had me yelling at the audiobook. Yes, the villain is a really good one. Very well fleshed out and layered, although they had some "acting" set pieces that felt at home in a Disney villain.
The suspense builds to a thrilling and satisfying climax. Corinne's character arc, along with those of the trio of friends she makes in the book, is expertly realized. Also, if one is looking for middle grade fiction with important themes and lessons (teachable moments), Baptiste excellently intertwines those aspects into the narrative. The importance of family and community, knowing one's culture and heritage, conquering fears, and looking out/helping others are great values, all of which are integral to Corinne and her friend's journey in this book. It's important to me to see stories about the diverse cultural heritage of people of the African diaspora. And I am thrilled to see more books for readers that explore these stories written by people of those heritages.
I like scary books, I cannot lie. I especially like books for younger readers, in part, because that are still nicely thrilling but have no over-the-top gore and violence. Having said this, there is plenty of violence in this book. The monsters are evil and blood-thirsty. Nothing overt, but I would definitely be a little careful with readers less than nine years old or sensitive to certain themes. I think this would be too scary for very young readers.
I enjoyed this book a lot. I will absolutely finish this series. Overall rating: 4.25/5.0.
I have always had a complicated relationship with nighttime. I enjoy the quiet it of it, the way the colors fade to blue and purple. The luminous beauty of a clear night where you can see the moon and the stars, and feel an incredible sense of peace and oneness with the natural world. Even the smells are different at night. I also sleep better when it's dark. But on the other hand, those fears that lurk at the back of your head and don't really get your attention during the day start to insinuate themselves into the forefront of your consciousness when the sun goes down. All the dark fairy tales, the urban legends, and the lore passed down through your family, not to mention imagery from movies and tv come back to your mind. In this book, it's about a young girl named Corinne who is very connected to the natural world on the small island where she lives. People always say not to go in the woods because of the creatures that live in there and will harm her, called jumbies. She has thus far, obeyed the edict, but when some boys steal the necklace her mother gave her, she had to go into the woods to get it back from the animal whose tail they tied it to. Once there, her presence awakens an ancient force determined to take back the island that was stolen by humans from their original inhabitants--the jumbies.
There's a beautiful juxtaposition between the colorful slice of life on a sleepy Caribbean isle and the sinister, chilling antics of the weird and visceral bestiary of creatures that makeup the jumbies. A short cast of characters allows the readers to get to know them in a deeper level and to flesh out the complexities of Corinne's existence, opening up a reality she never suspected was there all the time. Her loving relationship with her father is threatened by an enemy who takes over and insinuates their way into their lives in a way that had me yelling at the audiobook. Yes, the villain is a really good one. Very well fleshed out and layered, although they had some "acting" set pieces that felt at home in a Disney villain.
The suspense builds to a thrilling and satisfying climax. Corinne's character arc, along with those of the trio of friends she makes in the book, is expertly realized. Also, if one is looking for middle grade fiction with important themes and lessons (teachable moments), Baptiste excellently intertwines those aspects into the narrative. The importance of family and community, knowing one's culture and heritage, conquering fears, and looking out/helping others are great values, all of which are integral to Corinne and her friend's journey in this book. It's important to me to see stories about the diverse cultural heritage of people of the African diaspora. And I am thrilled to see more books for readers that explore these stories written by people of those heritages.
I like scary books, I cannot lie. I especially like books for younger readers, in part, because that are still nicely thrilling but have no over-the-top gore and violence. Having said this, there is plenty of violence in this book. The monsters are evil and blood-thirsty. Nothing overt, but I would definitely be a little careful with readers less than nine years old or sensitive to certain themes. I think this would be too scary for very young readers.
I enjoyed this book a lot. I will absolutely finish this series. Overall rating: 4.25/5.0.
February 5, 2023
I don’t know if anybody following me on GR needs upper elementary / middle grade audiobook recs, but this was SO good on audio. Inspired by Carribean folklore, girl MC, magic and danger. My son was 8 or 9 when we listened to it; he and I both enjoyed it a lot.
December 10, 2023
3.5 stars
This was fun! Caribbean folklore, a town vs the supernatural, and some nice growth for our young main character. Review to come!
This was fun! Caribbean folklore, a town vs the supernatural, and some nice growth for our young main character. Review to come!
October 25, 2020
“This time, I didn’t trouble trouble. Trouble came troubling me. And I intend to do something about it.”
This one joins the ranks of books that didn't quite work for me, but that I'd still readily recommend to people interested in these genres.
Although, I mean, it's not that it didn't work for me. A lot of things about this certainly seem as if it's catered to me. It's a children's/middle-grade fantasy/folklore book that draws onCaribbean history and mythology. When I saw that the author is a fellow Trini, I was beyond excited to read this. It's a story about a young girl, Corinne, who with the help of some friends finds herself facing up against an ancient, malevolent jumbie, bent on revenge for something that Corinne doesn't quite understand.
My biggest and main disappointment with this book is how it was written. In complete, standard English. It's set on an unnamed island that's very clearly supposed to be in the Caribbean, and I recognised Trinidadian fruits and customs and sayings on every other page, but there was pretty much no dialect or slang. And the thing is, this isn't a critique of the book. The author is writing for an international audience, and for a younger age group. I definitely don't think that either of those things is exactly a barrier to writing with dialect, but I understand that even if the author had wanted to do it, a publisher/editor might have thought differently. But I'm still hugely disappointed, because it made everything about that story and the setting seem washed out and sterile to me. Two orphan bush boys talking with near perfect grammar and syntax? I couldn't get behind it.
Again! This is not a critique; it's simply something that made me enjoy the story a little less than I might have. I'm someone who adores reading dialect in books, and I thought I would get it here, and I didn't, and I was sad. And I mean, that's fine. I'm also just not the audience for this. There are some children's/middle grade books that can be enjoyed by both children and adults, and some that are written purely for children, and I think this sits squarely in the latter category. And that's okay.
This is a really creative and inventive book that draws on the stories and legends that I grew up hearing, and I really appreciate that. As Baptiste says in this clip, she's taking something that's been largely oral tradition, and trying to write it for a larger audience (including people in the Caribbean, and the Caribbean diaspora). And that's important.
If you like middle grade fantasy, and learning about different types of folklore, give this a try.
2.5 stars.
May 16, 2021
The is a middle grade horror fantasy, and this is the first book in the Jumbies series. There are some scary parts of this book, and it would make a great read around halloween. I love some parts of this book, but there are parts that I just did not understand. I liked the characters. (*)
June 26, 2020
This was a great Caribbean middle grade fantasy novel. I didn't think it was particularly scary, despite the horror label. The audiobook is wonderful - I believe Robin Miles is the narrator, and she does a fantastic job of bringing the story and characters to life!
October 31, 2020
A cute read with some heart.
July 24, 2017
I loved how the author took old West Indian stories and wove them together for this tale. The book has some eerie moments involving the forest and the jumbies that dwell in it. Corrine, our brave little hero and her crew must fight to save the island from the evil Severine. Beautiful and mysterious newcomer to town Severine has the entire village mystified but especially Corinne's papa. Corinne must battle Severine and her jumbie army to defend her home and save her papa and while doing so discovers the magic within.
March 25, 2015
The Jumbies is a unique take on an old folktale. It's beautifully written and although it’s intended for younger readers it held my attention throughout the entire book. I love the main character Corinne and her friends. Especially the two brothers, Malik and Bouki. I could totally see my twelve year old niece reading and enjoying this book as much as I did.
Side note: I craved oranges the whole time I was reading.
*Received an ARC through Goodreads*
Side note: I craved oranges the whole time I was reading.
*Received an ARC through Goodreads*
August 18, 2015
Okay
It was okay. It needed to be a bit more polished. especially The side characters and their relationship with the main character.
It was okay. It needed to be a bit more polished. especially The side characters and their relationship with the main character.
March 15, 2018
Ah this was so cute! I'm so happy I picked this one up on a whim off of Bookoutlet.
RTC
RTC
March 29, 2021
What a delightful book. If only I had access to these kinda books when I was a kid! Nevertheless, this book was thrilling and spooky. This story is action packed with Corrine coming across the jumbie in the first chapter itself. But when the jumbie comes into town and her own house, Corrine becomes scared and suspicious and revelations come nto the forefront about her mother. And when the jumbie takes her father, Corrine must save him with help from her friends. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator did such a good job with the voices, cackling like a witch and singing the songs as well. Loved it!!
Read
March 6, 2022a quick read that is both haunting and riveting. i will be reading the sequels 😌
October 1, 2022
Super cute 💖
October 19, 2014
This was a great, modern folktale story. The characters were all pretty well developed, the main character had grown by the end of the book and the setting was lushly described. The jumbies were spooky enough to give me a nightmare, not too scary, but I could tell it was inspired by the book.
The plant magic was great. I really wanted to try one of those oranges, I have to say! The friendship in the story was natural and the ending for the brothers was sweet. There were a couple of harsh parts, of animals becoming the food of the head, evil jumbie, but they weren't too bad. The Disney "one parent dead/orphan" trope was present, but it fit into the storyline and wasn't overly annoying. All in all a good read, I enjoyed it. The chapters were short, which led to the classic, "That was a short chapter, just one more and I'll go to bed", and then not going to sleep until the book was done. It was a quick read though. Plenty of action and adventure.
My thanks to NetGalley and Algonquin Books for an eARC of this book to read and review.
The plant magic was great. I really wanted to try one of those oranges, I have to say! The friendship in the story was natural and the ending for the brothers was sweet. There were a couple of harsh parts, of animals becoming the food of the head, evil jumbie, but they weren't too bad. The Disney "one parent dead/orphan" trope was present, but it fit into the storyline and wasn't overly annoying. All in all a good read, I enjoyed it. The chapters were short, which led to the classic, "That was a short chapter, just one more and I'll go to bed", and then not going to sleep until the book was done. It was a quick read though. Plenty of action and adventure.
My thanks to NetGalley and Algonquin Books for an eARC of this book to read and review.
October 22, 2020
Tracey Baptiste's The Jumbies is a middlegrade horror novel full of Trinidadian folklore. The history of the island is rich and deep and wonderfully explored in our main character, Corinne.
I knew this book would have spooky elements to it, but was pleasantly surprised at the tension Baptiste was able to create. There was true suspense that even gave me, an adult, the creeps!
I was so impressed with the integration of Trinidadian folklore. I had recently read Lynn Joseph's two folktale collections, and was so excited to recognize the soucouyant, La Diablesse and the loogaroo. The different kinds of jumbies were fully explored, but also left me wanting more. I'll definitely be checking out the audiobook of the sequel since I enjoyed this first book so much!
I knew this book would have spooky elements to it, but was pleasantly surprised at the tension Baptiste was able to create. There was true suspense that even gave me, an adult, the creeps!
I was so impressed with the integration of Trinidadian folklore. I had recently read Lynn Joseph's two folktale collections, and was so excited to recognize the soucouyant, La Diablesse and the loogaroo. The different kinds of jumbies were fully explored, but also left me wanting more. I'll definitely be checking out the audiobook of the sequel since I enjoyed this first book so much!
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