But now she is going to Canada to visit her grandmother for Christmas. Amazing Africa.Īnna Hibiscus has never been away from her home in Africa, surrounded by her parents and baby brothers, as well as all of her aunts and uncles and cousins. She has never met Granny Canada and she can't wait to see snow! Canada is very cold and it takes Anna a little while to get used to wearing lots of clothes and eating different types of food. ‘But the men don’t ever stop talking.Anna Hibiscus lives in Africa. (Another effortless example is Mr Scruff by Simon James.)īack to the story and Anna’s quest for someone to splash in the sea with.
Picture books portraying such kids are uncommon but welcome – because all kids need to see themselves reflected in the books they read if they are to be affirmed. Like the character’s creator, Atinuke, Anna Hibiscus is mixed race. She’s the only white face in the book (and it’s the only face to receive a liberal dollop of sun cream!). Now here’s a significant detail: Anna’s redheaded mother. Meanwhile, Anna’s mother is busy plaiting Auntie Grace’s hair (who’s husking corn cobs for lunch). Small birds peck among the foliage and a trail of leafcutter ants are hard at work. It's a lovely scene showing the older cousins hanging out in an old truck tyre under a shady palm. “We are too big now for playing,” says Clarity.
The teenage girls are too busy with their phones. She persistently goes from one family member to another, hoping someone will join her. No wonder she looks so happy – she’s on a family day trip to the beach! But it’s not any ordinary beach. In the middle of them all, smiling and waving at the reader, is the irrepressible Anna Hibiscus. The title page zooms in closer to a family travelling on a motorboat. A bus travels between the sky-rise buildings, and a jet passes overhead. A cityscape – complete with colourful billboards, satellite dishes and fire escapes – spans the front endpapers and reaches right up to the seashore. Instead, it reflects modern Africa (Atinuke was born and grew up in Nigeria). There’s not a mud hut, stretch of savannah or giraffe in sight. It challenges preconceptions of life in Africa.Ītinuke and Tobias's portrayal of Africa is striking. This week’s recommendation – Splash, Anna Hibiscus! by Atinuke and Lauren Tobia (Walker Books, 2013) –does two other things that are noteworthy in picture books: They show kids how to be emotionally healthy.
0 kommentar(er)
