His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. 5-9)Ī collection of parental wishes for a child. A welcome window into an unfamiliar world. A third title has already been published in England. Tobia’s sketches, pen-and-ink with a gray wash, will help early readers visualize the family, unfamiliar customs and clothing and Anna’s community. These stories celebrate the extended family and the combination of traditional ways with conveniences of the modern world they contrast Anna’s relatively privileged life with that of others in her country and reflect the Nigerian childhood of the author, a storyteller now living in Wales. Her world grows in Hooray for Anna Hibiscus! (978-1-93): She starts school, sings before a large audience, tries a hair experiment and visits a very poor neighborhood.

The family goes on vacation, an auntie visits from America, Anna learns what it is to do hard work and she gets an invitation to visit her Canadian grandmother. The first title in this appealing new series introduces Anna’s world.

Linked short stories star Anna Hibiscus, who lives in a large house in a compound in “amazing Africa” with baby brothers Double and Trouble, parents and extended family.

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