Illustrated by Caroline Binch. 28 p., Dial, 1995. When your family doesn't fit with the images of families that you're exposed to, it can be confusing. And it can be even more confusing to meet a father whom you haven't seen since you were very little. Grace lives with her ma and her nana in the United States, and sees herself as not having a father. But she does have a father, and he lives in Africa with Grace's stepmother and young stepsister and stepbrother.Grace is surprised when he sends her tickets for Nana and her to visit him there. At first, Grace feels as if she doesn't belong in this family - they're complete without her, and this family has the "wrong" mother. But she finds that she can't help liking her step-siblilngs. She feels that she has to be annoyed with someone, though, and, having read stories about wicked stepmothers, chooses her stepmother, Jatou. Once her father reassures her of his love for her, she's able to like Jatou, and to enjoy African cultural experiences. But she misses Ma, and feels homesick when they talk on the phone. She feels as if there isn't enough of her for two familieis. Nana assures her that there's plenty of her. By the time her visit is drawing to a close, Grace has begun to see her family as normal, not as a family that should fit the mold of those in the stories she's read. She decides that the story of her family will end with living happily ever after, "though not all in the same place." The pencil and watercolor illustrations are evocative of Grace's feelings and the closeness of her relationships. With Grace, children will understand that there are all kinds of families, and "families are what you make them." Ages 5-8
Showing posts with label African. Show all posts
Showing posts with label African. Show all posts
Sofie and the City by Karima Grant
Illustrated by Janet Montecalvo.32 p., Boyds, 2006. When you move to a new country, you miss the beauty and friendliness of home. Such is the case for Sofie, who has moved to a large U.S. city (perhaps New York) with her parents from Senegal. In phone conversations with her grandmother, Mame, Sofie describes her experience of her new home as ugly and isolating. She tells Mame that she wants to return to Senegal. Her wise Mame tells her, "before you come back, you will just have to make it pretty." Beauty and friendship arrive together, in the form of a neighbor girl named Kenya who colors on the sidewalk with chalk. When Sofie joins Kenya in coloring, she draws her first home and her grandmother. This allows her to connect her old and new homes, and with a new friend, her new home doesn't seem so ugly any more. With its colorful illustrations, this story shows children important ways to feel at home in a new country. Ages 3-7
Where's Jamela? by Niki Daly
36 p., Farrar, 2004.
Sometimes moving to a new house means leaving a home that you love. Jamela doesn't want to move to the new house that Mama has found, even though her Gogo (grandmother) is going to live there with them. She loves the old house, the street sounds, the smells of the neighborhood, and the stars she can see from her bedroom window. But Jamela works hard packing her things, and she gets so tired that she goes to sleep - in her packing box. When Mama's friends pack the family's things into their pickup truck, no one can find Jamela. They look everywhere, and finally call the police, before they discover Jamela, who has woken up, in her box. Everyone is happy to see her, and they celebrate with music and dancing, which Jamela correctly understands as "a going-away song." She begins to understand that even Mama is sad to leave their old home. But the new home is as nice as Mama had said it would be, and Jamela realizes that she hasn't lost the sky that she used to see from her old bedroom window. With its lively illustrations, this story will be a comfort to children who are sad to leave an old home for a new one.
Ages 5-8
Sometimes moving to a new house means leaving a home that you love. Jamela doesn't want to move to the new house that Mama has found, even though her Gogo (grandmother) is going to live there with them. She loves the old house, the street sounds, the smells of the neighborhood, and the stars she can see from her bedroom window. But Jamela works hard packing her things, and she gets so tired that she goes to sleep - in her packing box. When Mama's friends pack the family's things into their pickup truck, no one can find Jamela. They look everywhere, and finally call the police, before they discover Jamela, who has woken up, in her box. Everyone is happy to see her, and they celebrate with music and dancing, which Jamela correctly understands as "a going-away song." She begins to understand that even Mama is sad to leave their old home. But the new home is as nice as Mama had said it would be, and Jamela realizes that she hasn't lost the sky that she used to see from her old bedroom window. With its lively illustrations, this story will be a comfort to children who are sad to leave an old home for a new one.
Ages 5-8