Ann GrifalconiAnmeldelser

Age: 5-8

Sent by her mother to the edge of the Niger to gather rushes for the Ceremony of Beginnings, Nsia encounters many distractions, until the ancestors' spirits guide her on her way to becoming a wise little woman.

Set in the jungle, this book tells the story of a young girl's growing up. Osa is proud. Just a little too proud for her good. But Granma sees the way to show Osa just how foolishly she's behaving - and does so in a wise and gentle way.

I would give this story a 3/5. This story is a picture book, and multicultural text meant for students from grades K-2. The reason I gave it a 3 was because I loved the illustrations and the setting, however I did not enjoy this story as much as the others I have read due to the writing and language the author uses. In some parts it was very unclear what they were talking about since it was such a different culture. I had to go back and read it over a couple times to make sure I read the passage correctly. On the other hand, I really enjoyed the illustrations and colored pencil drawings that enhanced the tale of the volcanic eruption, while still keeping with the peaceful, family feel of the book. This book explains in many different ways how the culture in Cameroon is much different than the culture here in the USA. For example, after the volcano the men and women were separated in different tents, and have much different and very important roles to keep the village alive. Your life in the community is based on gender and age.

Fascinating folk tale from Cameroon. I think the author does a good job of respecting and showing appreciation for the culture without being a part of it. I would have liked to see an author's note explaining the background of the tale and historic/cultural significance of it. I took off half a star because of this. I think it's important to provide a little more context for stories like these, although she does provide a short paragraph at the beginning of the book.
** I am very drawn to this story, however, and kept wavering on whether I wanted to put it on my top 100 list. It is not there but it is pretty close.½

A young boy in living in Harlem spends his days looking out the apartment window across to other windows, keeping up with the neighbors' lives. He's particularly intent on waiting to see who moves into an empty place and is delighted when it turns out to be a jazz pianist. He also struggles with his unhappy parents and is even abandoned by them for a short period (? The narrative is fuzzy here). The premise is good, but the writing is wonky, it seems. Zeke's abandonment seems sudden and not really in line with where the story was going, and then the ending is way too abrupt and pat, making the arc even more strange and difficult to follow.½

A poetry book that expresses the emotions of a boy called Everett coming to terms with the loss of his father.

This book is a heart tugging story of a little boy who is trying to come to terms with his fathers death. The book follows him through the many stages of grief and lastly acceptance.
Ages-(6-8)
Source-(Pierce County Library)

Everett Anderson's Goodbye is an easy reader book that teaches kids about how to deal with grief. Everett loses his father, and as a result show signs of depression. He cares for nothing and wants nothing but his father, over time and with the love from his mom Everett grows to gain a better understanding of love, and how it is everlasting. In this day in age young children are finding it difficult to deal with depression, and the only outlet is to harm themselves. It is important that these topics are discussed at younger ages because children are having to deal with more real life issues at younger ages. These issues do exist, and teaching students how to cope will improve many situations. I absolutely loved the illustrations in addition to the story. The grief the author was trying to convey came out in the illustrations.

The illustrations in this tory are beautiful, vibrant and purposeful. They help create the dark and eerie mood of the folktale that the grandmother tells. Hearing of this story from the perspective of a young girl will make the story easier for children to understand.

The reality of this story is quite gloomy and heartbreaking but the author does such a marvelous job of writing so eloquently of a story that was told to her from a survivor who recounted such tragic events.

This is about the village of Tos where the houses are gender specific. Women live in round houses and men live in square houses. The illustrations in this book are beautiful and very warm and bring across the African American culture very well. This would be a great book to use to teach a lesson on traditions and then the students could write down or illustrate one of their traditions they have in their family.

Grandpa takes his granddaughter on a walk and he's waving to everyone. When she asks him why he tells her all about his days in slavery and how they escaped to free land. He said along their journey of traveling and hiding with a baby, many people helped him. He tells her that he would do the same for people in need because no one is a stranger to him. This book took place after the blacks gained their freedom. Great book and reminder.

women live in round houses and men live in square houses, and little girl finds her way in the village
1 book

a little girl gets lost in the woods (she is scared of the dark) but a wise old woman helps her get out of the woods and stop being scared of the dark.
1 book

In this book a young boys' father passes away and he is learning to cope with it.

Age: 3 to 5 year olds
Source: Pierce College Library

Everett is experiencing the 5 stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance after his father dies. His mother gives him the support and understanding that he needs to grieve. Appropriate for ages 4 and up.

A touching story of a grandfather education his granddaughter on the values of being friendly, I feel that this book is one of those books that could be used to discuss friendship and the ways that being a good friend can benefit you and those around you. Especially being from New Orleans, where we are the most friendly people to come across. While using history intertwined from the Underground Railroad days, it brings to life the values of being a good and genuine person, regardless of race or background. I feel that this book could be given to a child at any age as a tool to reference when making a decision

This book tells the story of a young girl listening to her Grandpa tell stories of his escape to the north from slavery. He tells tales of all the kind people who helped them along the way, no matter what their skin color. The two then walk into the Grandpa’s blossoming apple orchard where he explained that he has planted one tree in memory of ever person that helped him and his family escape slavery. A major message I was able to get from this book was that simple kindness goes a long way and that appreciation for the people and the things you have is important. The setting seemed to have played a major roll within the story. The plot line was constantly flipping back and forth from Grandpa’s escape from slavery to present day with his Granddaughter. This created an important contrast as to how things have changed over the years and why the Grandpa’s journey was so important. I think this would be a great book to read to a class, while it does contain an interesting storyline it also involves some important history.

"Ain't Nobody a Stranger to Me" is a touching story on an account of a family involved in the Underground Railroad. It is about a grandfather telling his grand daughter about his experience. It is great to use the main character as a young girl talking to her grandfather because many children do this regularly. He tells how difficult and scary it was to escape slavery. He also tells of how unsuspecting strangers can be helpful and kind. This is a great history lesson for children. Children are able to connect to the grand daughter. Overall, I adore this book and I think it conveys a great lesson. I would love to use this book in my classroom in the future.

A young boy goes through a death of his father. He learns how to grieve and go through all these feelings and learns it will become easier to deal in time.
ages 3-5
pierce college library

A little boy is trying to understand and come to grips with his father's death. This books shows the different types of emotions a child can go through due to a loss in the family, but end up with acceptance.
Age: school age
Book Found: Amazon

a little boy is trying to get over the death of his father. He is having a hard time facing reality.

Ages:4-6

This book properly describes to children what it feels like if a friend moves away.

Shows a boy trying to overcome his father's death. It shows the different stages of anger and denial. It also shows him overcoming this to accept his fathers death.