This was an interesting story but it was not what I expected at all. The authour did research on the topic and states which parts of the story are fact and fiction which was nice to see. I thought the illustrations were very unique and it’s cool cause the authour does all 3D illustrations himself. I’ve never seen a book illustrated like that. I thought this story was going to be more of a lifelong bio of the Queen of Sheba, but it’s only about one folktale in her life. The book also lists Makeda’s 9 laws of leadership which I thought were interesting. Overall this book was fascinating to read and would make for a great story to read to children.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A beautiful inspiring and inventive tale of the young future queen of Sheba. The story is about how the Ethiopian king Agabos at his deathbed after fighting a menacing enemy to his city, decided to appoint his strong and brave daughter, the princess Makeda, to succeed him and how the young Makeda with her courage fought and could slay the monster that killed her father and was terrorising her people to become the great queen of Sheba that we know.

The story is well written with 3D illustrations which is a first for me to read a book with this kind of art and I have to say that it was so well done that I really enjoyed it. A great story about family, respect, love, courage and so many other things that could inspire many readers and a beautiful way to learn more about the African history through fiction.

This was amazing I loved it the Art, the characters and the plot. The art was phenomenal and so good. This based off the actually legends of the king, queen and princess of Sheba. I highly recommend this to everyone and I will be getting a physical copy when its published.

Makeda was a short but dynamic story. What a fantastic representation of people of color being strong throughout history. As well as the determination of a young woman to make her community better and that gender doesn't define her ability to lead.

The fact this was written and illustrated by a black author as a gift to his daughter makes the story and its meaning more powerful and sweet.

Upon requesting I had no knowledge of Makeda and the stories about her. This has definitely sparked an interest in her history and Marlon McKenney's other works!

**Thank you to Conscious Culture Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. **

I absolutely loved the way author Marlon McKenney has presented the story of Queen Sheba in a beautiful way. Through the mastery of his writing style, narration and illustration, the author has made the character alive. I am happy and hopeful that this particular work will incourage young people especially girls to raise their voice against every kinds of injustice. I sincerely believe this work will encourage the African-american youths to be proud of their culture and explore the beauty and richness of African culture and tradition. Thank you for writing this brilliant story. I am looking forward to read more from the author.
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Full 5 stars for the writing and illustration. I highly recommend this graphic novel.
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This is a children's book about Makeda, the Queen of Sheba. The book was fantastic and great because it showcased the main character's struggles and triumphs as an exceptional woman. It does a great job of inspiring young children, especially girls. The artwork was beautiful but sometimes it looked awkward because it was rendered on a computer to have a 3d quality. The layout could also be improved since there were a couple of spreads with small, inlaid images that I couldn't see very well. Otherwise, it was an enjoyable children's book and I'm excited to see more from this author and publisher.

The graphics in this novel are absolutely STUNNING! I love the story and background of Makeda as I didn't know much of the history surrounding this woman. I would love for my daughter to read this when she is older! It has some wonderful stories about her life.

NetGalley ARC Educator 550974

Absolutely fantastic and amazing. The art jumps out at you from the pages and the storyline plucks at all of the top 10 emotions.

There is much mystery surrounding the Queen of Sheba, great lover of King Solomon. This take explores her backstory. It is a must have for households everywhere and religious teaching institutions.

I really enjoyed this book!

I thought that this was a great retelling of the folktale of the Queen of Shaba and how she came to the throne – I love books like this and I have a real fondness of mythology and folklore.

This book had some excellent illustrations, they have a real CGI feel to them - I will admit that I am not normally a fan of that style but it is done really well in the book and works so well to bring the story to life

It was an additive read and thoroughly enjoyable and it was great to see the different range of characters and such a strong female lead - a really positive book!

It is 4 stars from me for this one – highly recommended!

This book was a really cute and sweet telling of the story of Makeda, the fabled Queen of Sheba. It’s not something I would personally gravitate towards since it’s more aimed toward children but I would definitely gift this to any younger family members or friends!

On the positives of this book, the art was absolutely gorgeous, even in the format in which I had to access it. I could clearly see the detail and care put into every character whether or not they were at the forefront, and McKenney’s author’s note made it even more clear. The story was pretty clear cut and showed a strong heroine not only succeeding but learning from her failures, and fighting for herself and her family despite other people’s beliefs. It was ultimately very sweet and uplifting, and it felt a bit like a trailer for a new fantasy style game.

On the more negative side, and ultimately this isn’t even a count against the book, but the file that I received was all kinds of messed up. I was able to see everything clearly but unfortunately the pages were out of order and so the story was a bit harder to piece together. Additionally, while the art was beautiful it did feel a bit underwhelming at times. The art of adult or teenage Makeda was great, but the child version just felt a little out of place with the overall style.

In the end, this is a pretty cute story that would be great to read with a younger sibling, and has a pretty concise, and good plot. It’s not for me but I can appreciate that it’s pretty good.

I love love love this!!!
Wow what a beautiful story. The illustrations were just on point. Everything about it, glorious. The colors, the beauty, the bravery, so wonderful. Totally enjoyed it and I've recommended to my fellow book lovers. I wouldn't mind owning this in paperback at all. Where do I sign up for that?!! Brown skin girls doing the best, love to see it!!
Would love to see General Amari disgraced though, he needs it.

This was such a lovely story, a combination of history and fable about an Ethiopian princess. These kinds of stories are often missing from mainstream media and children's books, though they are thankfully becoming more and more plentiful. This is a story about bravery and honour, and I think I would have loved this as a kid. As an adult, the art style (reminiscent of the sims game) wasn't really my favourite, but I loved the vibrant colours and images.

Makeda: Queen of Sheba is based on the historical and religious figure of the same name. It follows Makeda from her childhood to her becoming the great queen of Sheba.

The graphic novel is highly enjoyable and portrays the vast beauties of Sheba so wonderfully. The art style is unique and as many reviewers already mentioned, it makes you feel as if you're in an animated movie ot a video game.

The language is simple and this would make an amazing bed time story for young children who need a hero in their life who is as brave, strong and wonderful as Makeda.

Makeda teaches children to not give up, to take responsibility for their actions and be a just and incredible leader.

5/5 stars, will recommend to everyone I meet.

I went in expecting a graphic novel, instead I got an awesome children's story. I found myself grinning while reading I was reading, excitement bubbling up in me similar to the experience of sitting on the floor listening to a story in kindergarten.

I love the story beginning to end.

My one nitpick is the art, specifically how it varies in quality. Scenes featuring the royal family? Magnificent. Didn't even think about the fact it was 3D as I was examining them. Scenes that include people outside the royal family, tread the line of uncanny valley. Where something feels off but you can't quite place it.
(though in reality most kids won't notice this, The Polar Express is terrifying looking back. But kids ate it up)

The art style of this was incredible! I appreciate the accessible way that this story was written, as it is a subject that I have not learned about previously. I will definitely be recommending it to others.

I received a free eARC from the author/publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Makeda: The Queen of Sheba was a lovely story about a princess and her journey to become queen of a powerful East African nation. It's told in the tradition of an oral history, depicting Makeda's legendary rise to power by defeating the Serpent King, a beast who caused chaos in her kingdom, and killed her father, the king.

The illustrations are beautiful, and have a certain CGI feel to them, so they almost seem three dimensional. I particularly loved all the gorgeous hairstyles. The colours are also bright, bold, and appealing. I would have loved this book as a child.

I loved reading about a brave, intelligent, African Queen, who shows that perseverance and determination are important tools for everyone. Without them, Makeda may never have become the Queen of Sheba, and her name might be just a footnote in history. I think it so so important for children to absorb all kinds of stories, and illustrated books like this also let them take in visual information as well.

I think that this is a delightful book, and I'm sure many parents will enjoy reading and sharing this with their children, especially those who want to instil beliefs of equality, feminism, and anti-racism in their children. I also think, like the author, that young Black girls need more historical role models of smart, capable Black women to look up to.

Makeda: The Queen of Sheba is a wonderfully illustrated children's book about the little known Queen of Sheba. Makeda, princess of Sheba and daughter of King Agabos, is the only child after the death of her brother. She is trained with warriors and taught to utilize both braveness and cleverness when dealing with opposition of any kind. When the royal family undergoes a tumultuous moment, Makeda chooses to be the voice and strength of the royal lineage. This book uses what appears to be 3d, digital illustration. This is a perfect art style for a book packed with this much action. I loved the details of each character's features and how the pictures brought the story to life. My only quarrel was the pictures brought the story to life more than the words. It seemed as though the words were a filler for whatever the pictures didn't convey.

This is such a good read with illustrations. The way the story of Makeda was narrated was so good. From her childhood till she became queen to rule. My dream of taming wild animals as pets was shown in this book, Shaba and Samson was the lion and lioness who was with her and her support while she was killing the monstrous serpent.

We can learn many things from Makeda, the way she cares for her family and the people of Sheba, her boldness, and the innovative ideas to solve problems when things fail to take responsibility and accepting the truth, and a confident girl.

This was a short but lovely fairytale-esque story. I thought the art was very unique, and it felt like I was inside a video game with the 3D characters.

This story of how the Princess of Sheba became the Queen of Sheba, is apparently based on folklore. Although we don't know anything about the real queen of Sheba's childhood, apparently there are stories and folklore about things that happened to her, and so this story was based on this.

Written and illustrated by the Black author as a gift to the world, and to his daughter to show that there were famous and skilled Black women in stories.

It is stunning to look at, and like good folklore, the heroine has to fight to get what she wants.

And since representation matters, it is all the better that she fights and succeeds.

<em>Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.</em>