Flyaway Girl was written and illustrated by Ann Grifalconi. It is an informational text on Africa and also realistic fiction. It was published by Little, Brown and Company in 1992.
This book is about a little girl names Nsia who is called Flyaway girl by her mother. Her mother calls her this because Nsia loves to run and run. Her mother swears one day she is going to fly away. The other women in the village encourage her mother to start giving Nsia responsibility and making her help with the chores. Her mother knows she will need Nsia’s help, but she hates to subdue her adventurous nature. She compromises by asking Nsia to gather reeds and then play while they dry. While Nsia is looking for light and dark reeds she hears a mysterious voice singing a song to her. At first Nsia is scared but she remembers that the spirits of the ancestors sometimes speak to the villagers so she listens. Then she asks the spirits to help her find the dark reeds. They sing her a song and lead her right to the dark reeds. She lays them out to dry, but instead of running to play she sits by the river and thinks. She realizes that she is growing up and that maybe she can help her mother.
This is an African story about a village preparing for the New Year. It is informational because of the description of the village and the discussion of the way the women prepare for the New Year. It is interesting to read about another culture and I think kids would be really interested to hear about the traditions of another country. I especially loved the pictures in this book. They are paintings with real photos of African women and children laied on top of them. They are real and moving and make the book so much more applicable and believable. There is a spirits aspect to this book, but showing the people that the book is about, right there on the pages is an irreplaceable feelings for kids and for adults alike. This is a great book to lead into talking about New Years and how it means we’re moving into a new year. This is a new concept for kindergartners and even a good review for first graders. You can ask children how we in America celebrate the New Year as it compares to the traditions in Africa.
This book is about a little girl names Nsia who is called Flyaway girl by her mother. Her mother calls her this because Nsia loves to run and run. Her mother swears one day she is going to fly away. The other women in the village encourage her mother to start giving Nsia responsibility and making her help with the chores. Her mother knows she will need Nsia’s help, but she hates to subdue her adventurous nature. She compromises by asking Nsia to gather reeds and then play while they dry. While Nsia is looking for light and dark reeds she hears a mysterious voice singing a song to her. At first Nsia is scared but she remembers that the spirits of the ancestors sometimes speak to the villagers so she listens. Then she asks the spirits to help her find the dark reeds. They sing her a song and lead her right to the dark reeds. She lays them out to dry, but instead of running to play she sits by the river and thinks. She realizes that she is growing up and that maybe she can help her mother.
This is an African story about a village preparing for the New Year. It is informational because of the description of the village and the discussion of the way the women prepare for the New Year. It is interesting to read about another culture and I think kids would be really interested to hear about the traditions of another country. I especially loved the pictures in this book. They are paintings with real photos of African women and children laied on top of them. They are real and moving and make the book so much more applicable and believable. There is a spirits aspect to this book, but showing the people that the book is about, right there on the pages is an irreplaceable feelings for kids and for adults alike. This is a great book to lead into talking about New Years and how it means we’re moving into a new year. This is a new concept for kindergartners and even a good review for first graders. You can ask children how we in America celebrate the New Year as it compares to the traditions in Africa.
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