From: Monica Edinger <monicaedinger_at_gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 11 May 2011 04:46:05 -0400

May I just echo Robin's recommendation of the Anna Hibiscus series. Having lived and taught in Sierra Leone I'm fairly obsessed with bringing material to American children that communicate an authentic viewpoint of life in West Africa. While she does not identify Anna's home country, author Atinuke's background is Nigerian and I can only say that what she describes rings true to me from my own experience a couple of countries to the west. (I'm going back to Sierra Leone this summer for the first time which will be quite an experience!) I too admired enormously Atinuke's deft handling of the class and economic issues that were very familiar to me from my time in West Africa.

I've heard some complaining about the author's decision not to identify Anna's home country and I have to say I disagree. The choice to begin each story with a lyrical storytelling trope --- that Anna lives in "amazing

Africa" is lovely and clearly an artistic choice. Yes, some Americans conflate the continent of Africa as a country, but that doesn't mean every book written for children and set in Africa must identify the country in order for American children to get the right idea. Even without naming the country, Atinuke does one of the best jobs I've seen giving a feel and sense of what life is like for one West African child.

Monica

-- Monica Edinger 600 West 111th Street Apt 2A New York NY 10025 educating alice _at_medinger on twitter My Huffington Post Blog
Received on Wed 11 May 2011 04:46:05 AM CDT