Why Thank You, Omu! Had to Come First
There are already so many frameworks in education. So many routines, steps, acronyms, and catchy phrases that promise to make teaching easier. They all have their place, but none of them feel like mine. None of them feel like the reason I read to children, or the reason I sit on the floor with a picture book and watch their faces change as a story unfolds.
So instead of trying to create another system, I want to start with something much simpler and much more personal.
I want to start with the book that earned the very first spot in the Companion Club.
I want to start with Thank You, Omu!.
If you don’t already own Thank You, Omu!, you can find it here (affiliate link):
👉 https://amzn.to/4ocnno2
This book is beautiful. Truly beautiful. Not in a fluffy, feel-good way, but in a deep, layered, textured way that picture books rarely accomplish.
On the surface, it is a story about generosity. About a woman who gives and gives until she realizes she has given everything away. There is real sadness in that moment. Children understand that feeling more than we often expect. And then her community rallies around her. They bring what they have. They share what they can. Together, they create something bigger than any one person could have made alone.
It is a gentle, honest picture of what it means to belong.
The Beauty of Diversity in This Story
Thank You, Omu! is also a story filled with diversity in every sense of the word:
diverse characters
a vibrant city setting
people with different backgrounds
cultural elements woven throughout
But there’s a detail you won’t want to skip.
Omu is not the character’s name.
She is called Omu, an Igbo word for “queen.”
Sit with that for a moment.
A Black woman being called queen again and again in a children’s book is powerful. Hearing a term from Nigerian culture used with respect is powerful. Children of all backgrounds deserve to see that. They deserve to hear that. They deserve to internalize that kind of representation.
If you have a child who has never heard a word from another culture spoken with honor, this book creates that moment. And if you have a child who shares that culture, this book affirms something important in them too.
This tiny detail opens so many doors without making a spectacle of it. It simply exists, beautifully and confidently, the way all good representation should.
The Craft of the Story
And beyond all of that, the construction of this story is just gorgeous. Oge Mora tells a children’s story in a way that meets kids exactly where they are. She uses the techniques that make picture books unforgettable: repetition, predictability, and rhythm.
Those repeated lines?
They aren’t accidental.
They give children something to latch onto. They help them feel connected to the story. They help them anticipate what might happen next. And they make it possible for a child, later that day or even a week later, to pick up the book and “read” it back to themselves, even if they can’t decode the words yet.
That moment, when a child sits alone with a book and whispers the parts they remember, is early literacy. That is empowerment. That is the beginning of reading.
The choices she makes as an author aren’t just clever.
They are purposeful.
They support real learning.
Collage
The collage artwork deserves its own moment of attention. Oge Mora builds each page with torn paper, textured layers, and unexpected colors that come together to form something whole and full of life. It mirrors everything the story is about.
A community made of many different people.
A city created from overlapping histories.
Beauty formed from pieces.
The art itself becomes a lesson in diversity, creativity, and what it means to belong. It is one more layer of richness that makes this book unforgettable.
Why This Book Matters to Me
Plenty of people more knowledgeable than I am have written about why this book matters. But here is why it matters to me:
Because children deserve books with layers.
Books with complexity.
Books that honor culture, community, and generosity.
Books that show real diversity.
Books that invite conversation.
Books that empower kids to see themselves and others with curiosity and care.
That is why Thank You, Omu! earned its place on our family bookshelf.
That is why it became the very first issue of the Companion Club magazine.
Not because it fit a framework.
But because it fit my heart.
And because it reflects the kind of teaching I believe in.
How This Connects to Willow Tree
I didn’t choose Thank You, Omu! because it was a bestseller. I chose it because it is the kind of story that stays with you. The layers, the generosity, the culture, the rhythm, the collage art reflect the kind of teaching I believe in and the kind of resources I want to build. Willow Tree isn’t about worksheets or quick wins. It’s about honoring children with stories that matter. This book represents that perfectly.
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
