Spotlight: Callaloo: The Legend of the Golden Coquí

Book Summary

Callaloo: The Legend of the Golden Coqui is the second installment in the Callaloo book series from author Marjuan Canady and illustrator, Nabeeh Bilal. This story follows Winston and his best friend Marisol as they adventure from New York City to Puerto Rico to free the legendary golden coqui frog trapped in El Yunque Rainforest. Using clues left by the Taino Indians and the guidance of the coquis, the children navigate their way through the enchanted forest in hopes to complete their mission. In a race against time, Winston and Marisol must avoid the evil Chupacabra, solve the mystery and make it back home for Abuela’s Nochebuena dinner. (Ages 3-7)

About the Authors

The Callaloo creators are DC artists and entrepreneurs, Marjuan Canady and Nabeeh Bilal. In 2012, Marjuan Canady began writing a collaborative folklore theatrical play entitled, Callaloo: A Jazz Folktale. Directed by Natalie Carter and featuring music from Trinidadian trumpet composer/musician, Etienne Charles, the show played at The Ellington Theatre in Washington, DC and the IATI Theatre (Off- Broadway) in New York City. The play was a workshop play at the 2013 Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Director’s Lab in New York City. In 2013, visual artist Nabeeh Bilal joined teams with Marjuan Canady and began self-publishing the first book in the series, titled, Callaloo: A Jazz Folktale. In under two years, Canady and Bilal have sold over thousands of books worldwide, performed live at festivals, schools and cultural arts institutions and produced their popular kids web-series How to with Callaloo.

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