*Makeda: The Queen of Sheba* by Marlon McKenney is a visually stunning and powerful retelling of the legendary Queen of Sheba’s story. With breathtaking illustrations and a narrative that blends history, myth, and empowerment, this graphic novel brings an iconic figure to life in a way that feels both fresh and deeply meaningful.

The artwork is absolutely mesmerizing, with rich colors and dynamic compositions that immerse you in the ancient world. Makeda herself is portrayed as a strong, intelligent, and inspiring leader, making her journey compelling from start to finish. The storytelling is engaging, balancing historical elements with a sense of wonder and adventure that keeps the reader hooked.

This book is perfect for anyone who loves historical fiction, mythology, or simply wants to experience the story of an extraordinary queen through a new lens. It’s not just a retelling—it’s a celebration of strength, wisdom, and legacy. *Makeda: The Queen of Sheba* is a must-read, especially for those who appreciate diverse storytelling and beautifully crafted graphic novels.

Marlon McKenney's Makeda: The Queen of Sheba is a African retelling of the legendary Ethiopian queen's rise to power, told along side with amazing and beautiful visuals.

In the story we get to see Princess Makeda, who, after the hasty death of her father, King Agabos, had to guide a male-dominated hierarchy to safeguard and oversee her kingdom. We got to see her journey from a grieving daughter to a tough queen.

The story explores the boldness, bravery, strength, and leadership. I loved everything the story represents and the message it was trying to pass across to its reader.

It’s a middle grade book so it’s perfect for educating kids.
It is inspiring and I recommend you read it.

The Artwork is beautiful and so is the story over all. Unfortunately the file we were given was all mixed up and had no semblance of order. The pages weren't even numbered so we could try to follow the story. It was confusing and not an enjoyable experience. While I am sure this has been fixed for Publishing I will not review off-site until I am sure.

It is a stunning illustrated children's book. It is a bock on how Makeda became the queen of Sheba.
This story is based on folk lore. It is about a brave girl - Makeda who became the queen of Sheba by avenging her father's death.
The illustrations felt life like. This story is full of courage, inspiration, bravery and justice.

Wasn't a fan of the art. I don't think this is a book we would have in the library but I will remember it for kids who are interested in similar themes.

This is an African folklore story that I was pleased to have an opportunity to read. This graphic novel/comic does a great job showing how the Princess of Sheba became the Queen of Sheba based on African folklore. This is a powerful story that many people should read. The representation of a strong, black, fearless woman is beautifully illustrated.

This one unfortunately was a dnf for me. While o did like the art style I did at times find it over complicated. The story itself had a lot of potential but I found myself bored throughout it and had to put it down about halfway through.

This is such a beautifully written African Fantasy Epic. I love the black female badass main character representation. I love how the book tells us the story of courage and redemption. Makeda the Queen of Sheba is a must read for children who are looking to read about black powerful heroines.

The artwork was absolutely stunning.
The story of the young girl who would become the Queen of Sheba of legend, Makeda is a beautiful story full of courage and the fight for justice

The story and history were good and will be interesting to kids. However, the pictures felt cheap, emotionless, and asynchronistic... I would opt for a better book about Makeda if possible.

Thank you so much to net galley for sending me a copy of this book! I loved this but the artwork was very overexposed it reminded me of a video game artwork

This is a book I am excited to purchase for my niece and nephew. I loved the story of the fierce Queen Makeda. She was powerful. Thank you for approving me to read this wonderfully written book.

Half truth and half fiction, the story of Queen of Sheba, who was so famous in her time that the Bible and also the Quran mentioned her. After the passing of her father, Makeda became the Queen of Sheba, the strongest and wisest ruler in her time. The graphic of this book is mesmerizing and the untold story is captivating. At least we have a glimpse of the great Queen of that time.

This was an adventure the Makeda was a strong character throughout the trials that came before her. I really loved the illustrations they were beautiful!

This graphic novel chronicles the journey that Princess Makeda takes in order to become the Queen of Sheba. After her father's sudden death, Makeda and her mother's lives are turned upside down. Princess Makeda will do whatever she needs to do in order for herself and her mother to be safe. After wading through a ton of patriarchal nonsense, she eventually becomes the queen of Sheba and restores order to the throne.

Overall, this was a really fun read and I enjoyed reading it. I think this would be a great book for anyone to read but especially young women so that they can see that anything is possible.

An informative children’s book about the Queen of Sheba. I LOVE the illustrations— they perfected the colours of the characters’ skins and there were many different hairstyles. It was beautiful. The story itself was inspiring although nothing groundbreaking. Would definitely recommend

Wow this story is amazing.  I actually wish they has books this good when I was younger. My 9 year old read me this story and she gave it the 5 star rating as she thought it was wonder and I agree it was. The pictures in this book were the best quality I have ever seen in any book. The storyline was wonderful following the amazing story of a princess who had to save her lands from a wicked snake like creature. What I loved the most was that it is telling wonderful story from other cultures with I feel is very important. It is packed full of wonderful life skills/morals including believing in yourself, practice makes perfect and thinking before you act was just a few. This book should be in every school and library.  It will definitely be loved by all the children.  It is brilliant for girls and boys as the princess isn't a flowery one. We will definitely be looking out for more titles by this author and publishers.  I just can't recommend this book enough you will have to see it to believe it.
So much praise goes to the author and publishers for creating this stunning book for children to love and learn from.

The above review has already been placed on goodreads, waterstones, Google books, Barnes&noble, kobo, amazon UK and my blog https://ladyreading365.wixsite.com/website/post/makeda-the-queen-of-sheba-by-marlon-mckenney-concious-culture-publishing-5-stars


Under either of the following names ladyreading365, lady Reading365 or ladyc reading

Descríbed as “A beautiful Ethiopian princess must use courage, strength, and leadership to conquer a dangerous enemy set on destroying the wealthy Kingdom of Sheba.“ this story narrates the life of a princess in a magnificent way. It’s the perfect blend of character development prose and storytelling.

Makeda: The Queen of Sheba is a graphic novel based on African folklore which tells her story from childhood till her rise as a Queen and the various struggles she faces to save her kingdom after her father's death and prove herself to her people.
The story was very short but well written and illustrated. The illustration style is not something I would normally prefer but it went very well with the storyline.
Other than that, the book is a good choice for younger audiences especially the female because it will teach them to believe in themselves and fight for their worth.

Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5

This book was awesome!!! The after was fantastic and the story was engaging and fun to read, couldn't put it down!!