For You Are a Kenyan Child (Anne Schwartz Books)

by Kelly Cunnane

Book Overview

Introduce young readers to the life of a Kenyan child in this sweetly imagined, whimsically illustrated picture book. Imagine you live in a small Kenyan village, where the sun rises over tall trees... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 068986194X
• Release Date: January 2006
• Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
• Length: 40 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 10.5" x 0.6" x 11.0"

Customer Reviews

A wonderful book

I recently checked this book out from the library not knowing much about it except what the title had to offer. I wanted my daughter to grow up with the awareness that other cultures and countries exist. The book went beyond our expectation with its unique style of putting the reader as the main character in role playing. The author was able to really take us into a village and introduce us to people we might meet, different activites, and responsiblities that we as a child in Kenya might partake in or have. Not to mention introducing us to some language, all in a simplicity that a child, such as my 3 year old would comprehend! My daughter wants me to read this book to her again and again! After we return the book to the library, this is a book I will have be sure to look for to purchase. AND how can I not mention the beautfiul illustrations as well, they are what appealed to me along with the title when I first pulled the book off the shelf!

A winner across the cultures

What a fabulous find! This book arrived today and we have read it 7 times already - and we are all still enthralled. My 2 year old loves the animal pictures and my 3 (almost 4) year old loves living the day with this child so similar to herself yet so far away. The writing is as rich and simple as the rural life it depicts; the illustrations lush and witty. I bought this book as a connection for my children to the Kenyan grandfather they can never meet, but this is a wonderful book for any family that wonders about the world we live in. Don't be intimidated by the few phrases in Kiswahili; the language was invented by Arab traders and first written down by the British so it is highly phonetic for English speakers. Just remember; 'e' sounds like A and 'y' sounds like E. Relax, smile as you speak and give each vowel equal emphasis. You may never visit East Africa but these are such easy words, a secret language to share with your children. My only regret about this book is that there isn't a whole series of them. We long to know more about the people of that village and their everyday adventures. It has been sad to say 'Goodnight' to them - seven times!

Juan. Not wan.

Essentially I've come to the conclusion that Ana Juan could come to my home and hit me over the head with multiple frying pans and I would STILL worship at her feet. You know that fantasy everyone has where a famous children's book illustrator walks up to you one day and says, "I made this incredibly beautiful painting, pre-framed, just for you"? You don't have that one? Well I do. And the illustrator in question would be Ana Juan. My goodness me, how that woman can paint. From her Fellini-esque, "The Night Eater" to the biography of "Frida" that only SHE could have illustrated, Juan is consistently brilliant in whatsoever she chooses to do. So when first-time picture book author Kelly Cunnane found that, "For You Are a Kenyan Child" was to fall into the creative hands of Juan, one can only imagine her response. The pairing of an artist who's picture book work, prior to this title, has been almost solely fantastical with a playful but realistic author makes for a unique book. One that reads as well as it looks. A child wakes in Kenya, "in the green hills of Africa, sun lemon bright over eucalyptus trees full of doves", to herd his Grandfather's cows. He's instructed by his mother to watch them carefully, but the cows won't mind if he slips away for a moment to see who else is up and about, will they? There's Bashir who bakes some pancakes in the morning, and the great black monkeys that perch in the trees. There's the village chief who is carving a magnificent lion and Grandmother who offers "sleeping milk, sweetened with crushed charcoal, fresh from the gourd". Distracted further by friends and playmates the boy finally makes it back to the field . . . but the cows are gone! Grandfather has come for them, and though all he says is, "Let's go home now", it's clear that the boy has been chastised. Home they go and everyone falls gently to sleep, "like you, like us". No offense to Ms. Juan, but there have been times when her stories did not match the beauty of her pictures. Campbell Geeslin's, "Elena's Serenade", was a good idea for a tale, but the text itself was stilted and off-putting. That's a danger that never comes up when you're reading Cunnane's words. First of all, she's taken the gutsy idea of writing the book in the second person. I'm sure that other children's book writers have done this in the past, but none are coming to my mind. The whole book is telling the child reader exactly what "you" are doing at this moment in time. It's fabulous. Using the conceit of a playful child visiting everyone in his village, the book is also able to visit all kinds of denizens of this small Kenyan village. The tone is a playful one, imparting information about Kenya so seamlessly within the text that you never feel you are "learning" anything. Rather, it all flows together in a beautiful logical fashion. And then there's the factual information. In a small section at the front of the book, so out of the way that you wouldn'

Enjoyed the language and culture

Great Book! My children and I love reading it. Even my two year old sits through it every time. My six year old and four year old caught on quickly to the Swahili phrases that are used. We will be traveling to Kenya this summer and I was looking for a good book to introduce them to a little of the everyday life. We enjoyed the culture and language covered in this book. A Kenyan friend pointed out to us, however, that he does not eat bugs as depicted in the story, but even he liked the book overall (even though it is written from an American point of view). Very enjoyable. I would definitely recommend this book.

An Adventure for Kids That Parents Will Enjoy, Too

Ever wonder what it's like to grow up in a little village in Kenya? Kelly Cunnane, a former Peace Corps volunteer in that country, tells the charming story of a little boy who is supposed to be tending his grandfather's cows when... well, there are so many other interesting things to do! You'll learn a little Swahili following him on his adventures ("Jambo!") and find out what happens when the cows come home. The colorful illustrations by Ana Juan are perfect for the story. I would definitely recommend this as a fun way to broaden a child's horizons.