This is the first in a charming and beautiful series for young readers. My only reservation is that it is set in "Africa," rather than naming an individual country.

Less a chapter book, more a collection of short stories about Anna Hibiscus and her family. Childlike but not childish, the stories share Anna's observations of her family and life in Africa. Readers will appreciate the similarities between American and the African culture described, as well as come to new understandings about the differences. A single chapter could be read as a stand-alone story time, opener to cultural discussion or research. ( )

I have been meaning to read this for a long time, but hesitated because it seemed like it would be very young -- nope, just fantastic storytelling. Atinuke is a joy to read -- the cadence of her language, the sweet but interesting and funny stories, the incredibly vivid setting. Love the illustrations as well -- they complement the story perfectly. ( )

Recommended Ages: Gr. preschool - 3rd

Plot Summary: Four short stories (each one a fairly long "chapter") tell vignettes of Anna Hibiscus's life. Outline black and white drawings are included on every page.

Chapter 1 - Anna Hibiscus's mother wants a vacation away from the craziness of their large household: Anna lives in a compound with her mom, dad, and twin brothers, but also all of her aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. Anna's mom, who grew up in Canada, isn't accustomed to all the chaos and people and wants a vacation. Anna and her immediate family travel by boat to a home on the beach. When they arrive, they are so exhausted they go right to sleep. When they wake up, they see how dirty the house is. Anna quickly is exhausted from watching her twin baby brothers who keep getting into trouble. Anna's father sees the problem and brings the aunts to vacation with them. Then they realize they need the uncles. Then they need the grandparents to calm everyone down, and everyone is with them on their vacation.

Chapter 2 -

Chapter 3 - Anna Hibiscus is bored playing in her compound all day. She really wants to sell oranges like the girls she sees in the street. Even though her Grandfather tells her not to, Anna Hibiscus does it anyway. She picks oranges from the tree in her courtyard and easily sells all of their oranges. The girls, with their dusty-brown oranges, are upset and don't sell any. Later that day, her family is talking about how sad the girls on street were, and how they have no money to buy food for their families. Anna feels terrible guilt and admits what she's done. The next day, Grandfather walks Anna back and forth down the hot, polluted sidewalk to the market to haul oranges back and forth to the girls, who sell them all.

Chapter 4 - Anna Hibiscus is obsessed with snow even though she's never seen it. She talks about it to everyone. She makes it "snow" in the kitchen much to her Uncle's dismay. Finally, he convinces her to write a letter to her Grandma from Canada who has offered to pay for a ticket for Anna to visit Canada. The letter says she would love to come and she really loves snow. Will Grandma respond and invite her to visit during the cold Canadian winter?

Setting: Africa

Characters:
Anna Hibiscus -
Double and Trouble - her twin brothers, less than a year because they are still crawling
Mom - from Canada
Dad - from Africa

Recurring Themes: family, extended family, Africa, babysitting, social class

Controversial Issues: none

Personal Thoughts: This book is often on lists of chapter books to read to preschoolers. I thought the stories were too long for my 5 year old, but she pushed through. Each chapter starts with a basic introduction to Anna Hibiscus, her family, and her setting. Chapter 3 gave my daughter and I a lot to talk about but I don't think she totally understood it all.

Genre: realistic fiction

Pacing: medium
Characters:
Frame:
Storyline:

Activity: ( )