Toronto author Helaine Becker draws on catchy Nigerian “juba” rhythms for her latest picture book. The varied rhymes and hand-clapping games were brought to North America by West African slaves, who transformed them into work songs that have preserved elements of African culture.

Based on one of the most popular juba songs, Becker’s verses have an open-ended quality that urges movement and participation, and encourages readers to fit their own words into the driving beat.

Lots of repetition and strong verbal rhythms are used to present concepts like in/out, big/small, near/far, and left/right, which are reinforced by the accompanying artwork of Governor General’s Literary Award–winning illustrator Ron Lightburn.

Vivid against the shaded blues and greens of the background, a young boy in red pyjamas and his yellow cat dash off on a fantastic midnight adventure to a fairground, exploring the concepts with their actions – learning about big and small through the distorting mirrors of the fun house, left and right on a rollercoaster ride.

The book is full of motion until, at last, the juba song fades away, with the boy and his cat falling asleep in his bed, watched over by a charmingly cat-faced moon.