Anna Hibiscus

 Anna Hibiscus. Atinuke. Illustrated by Lauren Tobia. 2010. Kane/Miller. 112 pages.

Anna Hibiscus lives in Africa. Amazing Africa. She lives in an old white house with balconies and secret staircases. A wonderful house, in a beautiful garden, inside a big compound. The trees are full of sweet, ripe fruit, and the flowers are full of sweet, juicy nectar, because this is Africa, and Africa can be like this.

This is the first in a series starring Anna Hibiscus, our young heroine. She comes from a big family--and she likes it that way. A family that is traditional and contemporary. The book contains four stories: "Anna Hibiscus on Holiday" which showcases her family--why every member of the family is important, "Auntie Comfort," which showcases the family's traditional values in a contemporary world, "Anna Hibiscus Sells Oranges" which showcases the importance of hard work and compassion, and "Sweet Snow" in which Anna makes a connection with her Canadian grandmother when she decides to visit her for the Christmas holiday so she can see snow for the first time.

I enjoyed reading these stories very much.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

The Gobble Gooble Moooooo Tractor Book

 

The Gobble Gobble Moooooo Tractor Book. Jez Alborough. 2010. September 2010. Kane/Miller. 32 pages. 

Early one morning, when Farmer Dougal was still asleep...
Sheep climbed onto the big red tractor.
"What are you doing?" asked Cat.
"I'm going for a ride," said Sheep.
"This is the sound the tractor makes when you turn the engine on..."
Ba-aa-a-a-a-a
"Can I come?" asked Cat.
"I can do the sound the engine makes when it starts to wiggle and jiggle..."
Purrrrrrr
"Wait for me!" said Turkey.

I loved this one. I just LOVED it! I always love a good farm book, a farm book that begs to be read aloud. Over and over and over again. While I can't say I loved The Gobble Gobble Moooooo Tractor Book as well as The Cow Loves Cookies, I definitely loved it. And I would definitely recommend it to anyone who loves a silly oh-so-fun read. It would pair well with Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type, Farmer Duck, and Punk Farm.

Loved the text and the illustrations. Loved the story. Loved how the excitement kept building and building! How more and more animals join in the fun in making all the "tractor" sounds. I think it definitely works best as a read aloud!

© Becky Laney of Young Readers