Donna L. WashingtonRecensioni

I could no get into this book and I TRIED. I TRIED

BUT it's too long. And the deliberate shortening of words bothered me. I felt like the author was trying to pay homage to a culture but it didn't work in my opinion

A sweet story of a rabbit who learns the tenants of Kwanza through a short adventure. It teaches the basic ideas of kwanza while also addressing the feelings children have during holidays like excitement, disappointment, and love.

Li’l Rabbit is the youngest and he feels that he has nothing to give to his family. Karumu is coming up, which is a meal during Kwanzaa, and his nanna is sick and his mom is too busy to cook. Li’l Rabbit’s mom yells at him saying he should be thinking about his nanna and not food. He goes searching for gifts to give his nana, explaining to all his friends how she’s sick. When he returns home with nothing, he opens the door and all his friends were there to spend time with his nanna. She tells him the best gift of all was to spend time with all their friends. The overall message was that materialistic gifts aren't as important as giving thought and love to your loved ones. Also, the different animals coming together to celebrate Karamu can represent different races, religions, and ethnicities coming together to spread love and happiness. This shows children that anyone can celebrate Kwanzaa, and give them more of an open perspective on different culture's traditions. I thought that the book would be a great book for children to read because it shows how love, affection, and compassion are the greatest gifts of all. As he went searching for a gift for his Nanna, each animal helped look because they loved his Nanna as well. They all surprised her and showed up with food and gifts, which is a good lesson for children: Treat others how you would like to be treated. Nanna was caring and giving to the community, so when she was sick, the community gave back to her.
The pictures were interesting and engaging for children because they had a various amount of different animals dressed up in clothes. On one page, the squirrel is reading a book called "Best Trees to Climb" while sitting on a branch. On some pages, the pictures perfectly described the text, but on other pages the pictures weren't representing the text. For example, on the page where L'il Rabbit is jumping down the pond, it shows him jumping into air, not a pond. I think that for a children's book, they should've drawn the pictures to match what is happening in the scene. I did think that the pictures were vibrant and attention grabbing, the illustrator used bold colors on each page.

Summary:
Lil rabbit is too small to help out with most of the Kwanzaa traditions. This makes him so sad. He is also sad because his Granna is sick and that means he cannot cook for Karamu. He looks for something that will make Granna feel better. Along the way he finds a lot of people his Granna has helped before and they all want to pitch in. They all meet up at Lil Rabbit's house to celebrate together. This book also has the Seven Principles in the back.

Personal Reaction:
I liked this book because it shows the character caring for his family and family is really important to me.

Classroom Extension:
1. This would be an excellent lesson on other culture's holidays.
2. Also a lesson on the foods and traditions they have and what kind of music is associated with this holiday.

Summary:
This historical book is also a multicultural book, but I picked it for historical because of the traditions that are talked about throughout. Li'l Rabbit is too small to help out with most of the Kwanzaa traditions which makes him really sad. He is also sad because his Granna is sick and that means she won't be able to cook for Karamu. He goes off in search of something to make Granna feel better. He runs into a lot of people that his Granna has helped out and they all want to do something to help. They all end up meeting up at Li'l Rabbit's family's house to celebrate with them. I chose this book for historical because of the way it laid out the Seven Principles in the back.

Personal Reaction:
I thought this was a cute story that expressed that treating others the way you want to be treated is obviously the right thing to do but it can also be an incentive to have people that care for you and want to help make you better. I really liked how the book laid out the principles in the back because it allowed me to learn a lot about Kwanzaa.

Classroom Extension Ideas:
1. This would be a good book to read during the time of Kwanzaa, especially if anyone in the class celebrates it to help the rest of the class understand that Christmas isn't the only holiday.
2. Allow us to celebrate with the music and dancing that they use.
3. Treating others the way you want to be treated.

I liked this book for two reasons. One reason is because of the author’s writing, which was engaging and organized throughout the entire book. The story of Kwanzaa is explained thoroughly by the author who celebrates Kwanzaa and who is native to Africa. The author describes everything one would need to know about Kwanzaa in a clear, descriptive manner. She describes the history of the holiday, all about the seven days of Kwanzaa and how each day is celebrated, and includes how to prepare for Kwanzaa. In the back of the book, a “Words to Know” section is included, with every single word significant to Kwanzaa explained in a simple, comprehensible way. Also, I loved the other two sections included toward the end of the book. The “Things to Make” section had different crafts one could make to celebrate and honor Kwanzaa and step by step directions on how to make them, and the “Recipe” page had directions on how to make Kwanzaa food. The second reason I liked “The Story of Kwanzaa” is because of the pictures. Each page included a unique picture that added to the written text. The pictures were relevant to the concepts of Kwanzaa being conveyed. For example, the recipe in the back of the book had a picture of what the final product looks like. This might encourage the reader to actually want to make the meal because the picture made it look appetizing. The big idea of this book is to inform readers of the history and values of Kwanzaa and how it is celebrated today.

A BIG man, A STRONG man sets out to join the army, but gets caught in the rain and spends the night at a spooky house and finds a series unsettling surprises inside.

There is a cautionary tale in this book about judging a person by his or her appearance. All of these stories come from a long oral tradition. Some of these stories may even be familiar to many children.

Li'l Rabbit's grandmother is sick and won't be able to make the Karamu (feast) for Kwanzaa. Tired of always being told he's too little to help with any of the Kwanzaa traditions, Li'l Rabbit decides to go off on his own to find something special for Granna Rabbit. Along the way, he runs into lots of other animals in the neighborhood that Granna has helped out over the year. In the end, everyone pulls together to make the best Karamu for Granna Rabbit, and Li'l Rabbit's efforts are rewarded when Granna says she has faith in him.

I really like this book for incorporating Kwanzaa traditions and principles (as well as some nods to African folklore) into a well-polished story that doesn't come across as preachy or overly factual. (However, a full-page spread at the end provides a more detailed explanation of the seven principles of Kwanzaa and puts the character's actions into this context.) It's particularly appealing for its audience of youngsters because Li'l Rabbit feels too young to accomplish anything yet his work is what results in a wonderful evening for everyone in the neighborhood - a truly inspiring turn of events. The illustrations are also creative and engaging, pulling the viewer's eye into each page.

The downside is that this book does seem to drag a little here and there in the middle. There's lots of repetition, which kids do love, but at times it just seems like you're reading the same thing over and over again with nothing happening (until it all comes together in the end). In my experience, repetition works best when it's short and something the kids can start to anticipate and repeat on their own. Still, all in all, this is a fun Kwanzaa-themed book to share with little ones.

Summary: In Africa, a young boy named Anansi wanted to catch fish, but he also wanted a partner. Nobody wanted to be his partner because they knew he was very lazy and would make them do all the work. Well one afternoon Anansi asked another young boy named Onini to be his partner, and Onini agreed. As they went to the river, Anansi had to cut reeds in order to put the fishing traps. He was going to trick Onini, until Onini stated that if he cut the reeds, Anansi was going to have to be very tired and have a sore back for him. Well, Anansi did not want to be tired, so he cut the reeds while Onini pretended to moan in pain and discomfort. This happened throughout the whole story, which made Anansi actually do all the work while Onini didn't have to.

Personal Reaction: I thought this book was very humorous. Especially because Anansi never caught on that he was actually doing all the work.

Classroom Extension Ideas:
A. This book could be read while learning about African culture. The book had a map of Africa and some illustrations had pictures of markets and places where the characters fished.

B. A good idea would be to make a dish that was from Africa that the students could try.

A Big, Spooky House is the story of a strong, brave man who confronts fear for the first time in his life as he spends the night in a mysterious mansion. The illustrations really bring this story to life by it's use of colorful paintings to help tell the story. It is a very good book with a nice, surprise ending.

One day, Anansi gets a great idea to go fishing, and if successful, sell the fish at the marketplace. He thinks that it is a good idea, but soon realizes that the work will be too much for just one person. Anansi heads to the marketplace in search of a fool willing to go into business with him, but everyone already knows that Anansi likes to cheat people. A boy named Onini agrees to be his partner, but what Anansi doesn’t know is that Onini has a few tricks of his own. By the end of the story, Onini walks away with all the profit, and Anansi finally realizes that he was the real fool all along.

A strong man is asked to volunteer in the army and he is confident he can do this. He is asked if he needs help along his way but he knows he can do everything on his own. He walks through a thunderstorm and into a scary house. He walks into this house and makes himself at home until he looks down at a talking cat. Weird things begin to happen and the cat grown bigger and bigger. The once brave, strong man dashes in fear.

It was a cute and informative book. I liked how it taught about Kwanzaa without being obvious about it.

“Li’l Rabbit’s Kwanza,” by Donna L. Washington is about a young rabbit’s search for a special treat for his Granna Rabbit for Karamu, which is the feast of Kwanza. When Granna Rabbit falls ill and cannot prepare the feast, Li’l Rabbit hopes to make her feel better with his special treat. After scavenging the forest and informing all the forest critters of his mission, Li’l Rabbit ends up going home empty handed. But when he walks in, all of the animals in the forest were there and had put together Karamu for Granna Rabbit because of Li’l Rabbit’s dream.

I thought the story was good because it included new terms related to Kwanza throughout, all while keeping the reader entertained with Li’l Rabbit’s mission. At the end of the book, the seven principles of Kwanza were highlighted and defined, which would be especially helpful to readers that were unfamiliar with the holiday. I think that this book would work well in an early elementary classroom while aiding in the explaining of Kwanza.

This book would be great in a winter holiday unit. After reading it, children could write a journal comparing and contrasting holidays like Christmas, Kwanza, and Chanukah and draw a symbol representing each. Children could also choose one of the seven principals of Kwanza that appeals to them the most and come up with ideas of how they could incorporate that principal into their holiday celebrations.

Everyone loves a spooky story at Halloween time, and this folktale is just the ticket. A big, strong man is so confident of his size and strength that he never gets scared of anything. He walks through a thunderstorm, he barges right into a haunted house, and he stares down a talking black cat. Is there anything he's afraid of? Oh yeah, there is!

A Pride of African Tales by Donna L. Washington, Illustrated by James Ransome, is a unique book that includes six stories coming from different regions of Africa. The books illustrations are attractive watercolor paintings accurately reflecting the characteristics of people, land, animals, villages, etc. Because each story featured is from a different area in Africa, a painted map of the regions precedes the stories, geographically orienting the young readers. At the beginning of each story, the author has included a brief explanation of what the story is about, along with a portion of the map reflecting the exact area of Africa the story is from. At the end of the book, the author has “Story Notes and Further Reading” which features more information about the region, characters in the story, and other related stories. The first story is from Ghana. “Anansi’s Fishing Expedition” is about a fellow who is lazy and well-known for this characteristic. He is always looking to get something for nothing. He tries to find someone to partner with him in his finishing business, but has trouble until he comes across Onini. However, Onini, knowing Anansi’s reputation is able to outsmart Anansi and beat him at his own game. In short, Anansi’ does all the work, gets none of the money, and the last laugh is on him. Another story, “Shansa Mutongo Shima” is a “cautionary tale from the Democratic Republic of the Congo”. In this story, a clever girl named Bwalya sought a man suitable for marriage, but no one in her village was equal to her match. One day a stranger came to town. He was able to persuade Bwalya to marry him against the advice of the village and her father. Soon, however, Shansa Mutongo Shima found favor with everyone by bringing much meet to the village. While everyone began to trust him, Bwalya felt there was something not right about the man she was going to marry. She secretly follows him one day to the bush and watches him hunt. She discovers Shansa is really a lion in disguise of a human and that he charms the animals so they dance until they die. Bwalya know that if she tells everyone what she has found out, they will not believe her. So, she has her father go on a walk to discuss things before she gets married. She leads her father to watch Shansa’s hunting; he is appalled and runs back to his brother. The three devise a plan to outwit Shansa, it works and he is never seen again. The lesson cautioning strangers and to not judge anyone but appearance is clear.

I've heard many versions of this story, but this version is particularly great. I love the repetitive elements and the way he snaps his fingers. It's wonderful language to read aloud. Nicely done.½