Written by Atinuke, Illustrated by Lauren Tobia
I love the Anna Hibiscus series – charming, funny, great to read aloud short chapters about a girl who lives in Africa. This is my favorite I’ve read in the series. The chapters work as great stand alone stories for read alouds. I’m thinking of reading two of the chapters to 1st grade in the library: “Being Brave” and “Making Friends.”
The “Being Brave” chapter is about Anna Hibiscus being frightened of the children in the village she is visiting because they seem unfriendly and call her “oyinbo,” which means white foreigner. Her grandparents tell her to be brave, but one day a pack of stray dogs scares her grandmother and she finds Grandmother hiding. Anna feeds the hungry dogs and leads them out of their yard. Lots of great conversation opportunities about how we can feel brave in some situations and not others. There is a very lovely interchange between Anna Hibiscus and Grandfather where he asks her if the things the village children are saying are true. She reflects on it – her mother is from Canada so her skin is lighter than theirs. She is from somewhere else. Grandfather asks her if that is a bad thing to have a different color skin and be from somewhere else. When she says, the other children seemed to think it is, he says, “We cannot control what other people think is good and what they think is bad. So we have to be clear about what we think and what we say.”
The next chapter, “Making Friends,” is about Anna Hibiscus making friends with the children in the village she is visiting. She thinks about how she made friends with the dogs in the previous chapter and tries the same strategies with the children. She teaches them how to write letters in the dirt and they teach her to shoot a slingshot and they invite her to come help herd the goats. Great conversation opportunities about making friends and a nice tie off to the conflict in the previous chapter.
Reviewed by Megan Buhler, Librarian, Calvin Smith Elementary
Review shared in January 2025
Rating: ★★★★½ (4.5 stars)
Interest Level: Grades 1-3
Go Well, Anna Hibiscus!
Written by Atinuke, Illustrated by Lauren Tobia
Candlewick Press
96 pages
Release Date: November 19, 2024
ISBN: 9781536238112
A review copy was provided by the publisher.
