Horn Book Review
These installments of Atinukes chapter book series set in a contemporary big busy city in Africa. Amazing Africa revisit themes of family, tradition, biracial/bicultural identity, wealth disparities, friendship, and more. Welcome Home picks up where Have Fun, Anna Hibiscus! (rev. 5/11) left off, with the title character returning from a visit with her (white) mothers family in Canada and grappling with changes both big and small. Go Well brings a visit (continued in Love from) to the village where her paternal grandparents grew up and explores the joys (e.g., making new friends) and challenges (e.g., no school or hospital close by) offered by this setting. Youre Amazing finds the family back home, but with impending sadness to face (Anna Hibiscuss beloved grandfather is not well). Satisfying resolutions for most of the personal and broader troubles Anna Hibiscus faces arise through guidance from her elders and her own thoughtful introspection, along with large helpings of humor and goodwill from those around her, including her mischievous little brothers Double and Trouble. As her grandmother says to conclude this set of four books, Amazing Anna Hibiscus is busy growing up, and its clear that the amazing love surrounding her is key to this growth. megan dowd lambert (c) Copyright 2017. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
The importance of family during difficult times permeates the final book in the Anna Hibiscus series. In the gentle, frank tone readers have come to expect, gifted storyteller Atinuke balances compassion and humor while tackling a sensitive subject, the death of Anna's beloved grandfather. The first chapter sets the scene. Anna is back at home in the mixed-race family's city compound with Anna's twin little brothers, Double and Trouble, getting in all sorts of mischiefdeleting pictures on Uncle Tunde's cellphone but saving the day by climbing in a window when the doors are accidentally locked. Meanwhile, Grandfather is growing more and more tired. Family members take turns sitting with him, but Anna refuses, hoping that if she doesn't think about "the really bad thing" it will not happen. "Then one day Grandfather did not wake up anymore." Anna is grief-stricken. In the final two chapters Anna, tenderly supported by her loving extended family, all also grieving, each in their own way, learns to listen for Grandfather's voice in her heart. The book ends with near-perfect modeling of shared grief and healing, as everyone tells their favorite grandfather story. Readers' understanding of Anna's genuine grief is amplified by Tobia's grayscale sketches. Be prepared. Readers say farewell to Anna Hibiscus as tears "drop off the corners of her smile." (Fiction. 5-9) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
