Queen Nur and her drummer friend Yomee returned to Coventry Grammar School this year to once again delight our students and staff with their performance of Sweet Potato Pie, songs and stories from Africa and the Caribbean.  The children were a wonderfully attentive and engaged audience as they listened to and sang along with the musical story of Imani the mouse, the only creature in the forest who could free the lion from the net, even though Imani was so small – “You might say I’m teeny tiny, but in my mind I’m mighty mighty!”  Queen Nur used this story to explain to the children that names should never hurt them, and that they must trust their own feelings and abilities.  She noted that Imani’s efforts were very much like those of Dr. Martin Luther King, whose birthday was commemorated earlier in the week.

The children also heard the story of La Familia Raton (The Mouse Family), during which they responded to Queen Nur in Spanish to illustrate her lesson on how helpful it is to know more than one language.  Queen Nur’s final story and song invited groups of students and staff to the stage to play African musical instruments (the students) and to create a parade of wild animals (the staff), while we all sang, “Everbody has their own rhythm; everybody has their own style!”