The amazing African world introduced in the first two Anna Hibiscus books has turned from lush to dry and dusty. It's harmattan season, when the wind blows sand from the Sahara Desert, nearly Christmas time. Soon Anna Hibiscus will travel all the way to Canada to visit her other grandmother and see snow. Four linked stories describe incidents from daily life: careful dry-season bathing with buckets, family nap time, shopping for cold-weather clothes in a modern department store and a more satisfying traditional stall and the week Anna’s family seems to have forgotten her—until they produce their going-away surprises. As in other titles in the series, these gentle stories are illustrated on nearly every page with Tobia's gray-scale sketches. Accurate cultural details will appeal to readers curious about life in an unfamiliar world. This suburban family compound in a generic sub-Saharan country reflects the author’s own Nigerian childhood. The third-person narration moves briskly, with plenty of dialogue. Novice readers may find unfamiliar dialect challenging: “In dis your compound you throw water for ground," a peddler selling fruit outside the family home complains, pointing out that while Anna's family uses leftover wash water to water the plants, city children have no water at all. Once again, Anna demonstrates a growing social consciousness. Readers may begin Anna's story here; they will certainly want to go back to read earlier stories and will look forward to learning what happens next. (Fiction. 5-9)
Pub Date: March 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-61067-007-4
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Kane Miller
Review Posted Online: Feb. 10, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2011
Categories: CHILDREN'S FAMILY
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This tale of self-acceptance and respect for one’s roots is breathtaking.
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A young Chinese American girl sees more than the shape of her eyes.
In this circular tale, the unnamed narrator observes that some peers have “eyes like sapphire lagoons / with lashes like lace trim on ballgowns,” but her eyes are different. She “has eyes that kiss in the corners and glow like warm tea.” Author Ho’s lyrical narrative goes on to reveal how the girl’s eyes are like those of other women and girls in her family, expounding on how each pair of eyes looks and what they convey. Mama’s “eyes sparkl[e] like starlight,” telling the narrator, “I’m a miracle. / In those moments when she’s all mine.” Mama’s eyes, the girl observes, take after Amah’s. While she notes that her grandmother’s eyes “don’t work like they used to,” they are able to see “all the way into my heart” and tell her stories. Here, illustrator Ho’s spreads bloom with references to Chinese stories and landscapes. Amah’s eyes are like those of the narrator’s little sister. Mei-Mei’s eyes are filled with hope and with admiration for her sister. Illustrator Ho’s textured cartoons and clever use of light and shadow exude warmth and whimsy that match the evocative text. When the narrator comes to describe her own eyes and acknowledges the power they hold, she is posed against swirling patterns, figures, and swaths of breathtaking landscapes from Chinese culture. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 80.5% of actual size.)
This tale of self-acceptance and respect for one’s roots is breathtaking. (Picture book. 5-9)Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-291562-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 13, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2020
Categories: CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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A gentle voice and familiar pitfalls characterize this tale of a boy navigating the risky road to responsibility.
Gavin is new to his neighborhood and Carver Elementary. He likes his new friend, Richard, and has a typically contentious relationship with his older sister, Danielle. When Gavin’s desire to impress Richard sets off a disastrous chain of events, the boy struggles to evade responsibility for his actions. “After all, it isn’t his fault that Danielle’s snow globe got broken. Sure, he shouldn’t have been in her room—but then, she shouldn’t be keeping candy in her room to tempt him. Anybody would be tempted. Anybody!” opines Gavin once he learns the punishment for his crime. While Gavin has a charming Everyboy quality, and his aversion to Aunt Myrtle’s yapping little dog rings true, little about Gavin distinguishes him from other trouble-prone protagonists. He is, regrettably, forgettable. Coretta Scott King Honor winner English (Francie, 1999) is a teacher whose storytelling usually benefits from her day job. Unfortunately, the pizzazz of classroom chaos is largely absent from this series opener.
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for subsequent volumes. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Dec. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-97044-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Clarion
Review Posted Online: Oct. 2, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2013
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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