by Atinuke ; illustrated by Lauren Tobia ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2017
Readers will be thrilled to discover the next book in the series is already available.
This sixth installment of the Anna Hibiscus series finds Anna leaving the big white house in the city where she lives with her extended family to experience life in Grandfather’s rural village.
As with the other stories, the country is not identified. Possibly it is Nigeria, where Atinuke grew up. This vagueness is somewhat problematic. Africa is a huge continent; implying that all African village life is like Grandfather’s village is something of an oversimplification. On the other hand, not identifying the country avoids geopolitical issues that are well beyond the scope of an early chapter book. In the city Anna lives a protected and somewhat privileged life. In the village she learns the practical reasons for doing things the “bush” way—despite her aunties’ implication that “bush” is bad. The mixed-race girl also experiences prejudice because she is an “oyinbo,” a “light-skinned foreigner,” and realizes that she can both teach the children in the village and also learn from them. Filtered through Anna’s open-hearted innocence these lessons do not feel preachy. It seems perfectly natural that Anna’s spelling words are “equality,” “opportunity,” “cooperation,” and “friendship.” Tobia’s grayscale illustrations parallel the story, with Anna and her winsome smile always at center stage.
Readers will be thrilled to discover the next book in the series is already available. (Fiction. 5-9)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-61067-679-3
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Kane Miller
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
Share your opinion of this book
More In The Series
by Atinuke ; illustrated by Lauren Tobia
by Atinuke ; illustrated by Lauren Tobia
More by Atinuke
BOOK REVIEW
by Atinuke ; illustrated by Emily Hughes
BOOK REVIEW
by Atinuke ; illustrated by Angela Brooksbank
BOOK REVIEW
by Atinuke ; illustrated by Onyinye Iwu
by Josh Schneider & illustrated by Josh Schneider ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2011
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
Share your opinion of this book
More by Josh Schneider
BOOK REVIEW
by Josh Schneider ; illustrated by Josh Schneider
BOOK REVIEW
by Josh Schneider ; illustrated by Josh Schneider
BOOK REVIEW
by Josh Schneider ; illustrated by Josh Schneider
by Amy Krouse Rosenthal ; illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2015
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
Share your opinion of this book
More by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
BOOK REVIEW
by Amy Krouse Rosenthal & Christy Webster ; illustrated by Brigette Barrager & Chiara Fiorentino
BOOK REVIEW
by Tom Lichtenheld & Amy Krouse Rosenthal ; illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld
BOOK REVIEW
by Amy Krouse Rosenthal ; illustrated by Mike Yamada
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.