Balthazar’s Gift

Christmas is my favorite holiday because the stories behind it are so appealing. I kept my annual tradition and watched Scrooge (1951) on Xmas Eve—after I’d spent a few hours working on “Ousmane’s Dream,” a new picture book story. When I went to see the Neapolitan creche at the Art Institute earlier this month, the caption annoyed me; I didn’t take a photograph of it unfortunately but it was something to the effect of, “European artists started to depict Balthazar as Black around the same time as the trans-Atlantic slave trade took off.” There were free and enslaved Black people living in Europe during the Middle Ages, and all I could think about was Mansa Musa, king of the Malian Empire, whose incredible wealth stunned the medieval world after his pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324. Why would artists base a person of wealth and status—a magus, a king—off a slave? I’ve always been fascinated by Balthazar so decided to write a story about his childhood. Problem is, I want to include Mansa Musa and the university at Timbuktu. How do I write a Christmas story about two events that are over a thousand years apart? Is it possible to write about the nativity without promoting Christian supremacy? I’m a bit stumped about how to end my story, but think I’ve found a way around those two problems. The protagonist is no longer Balthazar; it’s Ousmane, a young student at a madrasa in Timbuktu who’s given a gift of gold when Mansa Musa stops in the city to visit the mosque. The gold coins bring on insomnia and Ousmane’s teacher urges him to seek a cure at Buktu’s well. Timbuktu supposedly got its name from the woman, Buktu, who owned a well (or “tin”) there; the well attracted travelers and the settlement that sprang up around it became an important center of trade: gold from Mali, salt from the Sahara, and slaves from the south. The other character in the story is an enslaved boy named Adu…and right now I’m trying to connect Balthazar’s gift of myrrh to Ousmane’s use of the king’s gold to free Adu. I thought I needed an angel but decided to use Buktu instead—she’s my ghost of Christmas past—and I’m managing the time lapse by having her relate Balthazar’s journey. Adu plays a drum so I’ve got my little drummer boy, and the star of Bethlehem even makes an appearance. Is it a Christmas story? I don’t know. That was my goal but it no longer feels like my priority. I kept seeing images of Mansa Musa from a book I couldn’t recall and a quick online search pulled up the picture book illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon. I’d love to have illustrations that are just as magical in my book! I parted ways with my agent earlier this month so I’m not really thinking about where this manuscript will go; I could offer it to editors I already know or I could try to self-publish it. Purple is making great progress with Chicken Wonders…Why? but things have stalled with Blue Boy. My author copies of Book #4 arrived last week and January will mostly be about launching that title; I have to make a promotional video this week (ugh) and may have some media opportunities in Canada. I’m renovating the master bathroom at the end of January and heading to Texas for a kid lit event in early February. Everything else will be done online (register for VirtuousCon here!) except for our educator event here in Chicago on 2/21. Right now the plan is to spend March in Scotland…but this week I just want to finish my story and set some goals for the new year. I always find Chani’s prompts useful—maybe they’ll be productive for you, too:

• • What experiences, habits, or patterns from 2022 do you want to let go of?
  • What feelings emerge as you do so?
  • What is one thing you learned over the past year for which you are thankful?