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If you haven’t experienced the book series about Anna Hibiscus, a brave and kindhearted little girl growing up near a large city in Africa, you are in for a real treat this summer. My kids and I have fallen in love with these precious books about family, fun, and the things that unite us all.
The first book in the series of 11 introduces us to Anna Hibiscus and her family, who live in “amazing Africa.” She lives in a big house together with her entire extended family: aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents!
A big family in Africa
Everyone in the family is African except Anna’s mother, who is Canadian and moved to Africa when she married Anna Hibiscus’s father. (The book does not specify which African country the family resides in, though the author is from Nigeria.) This first chapter is a delightful introduction to their warm and loving family navigating some cultural differences. The mother reminisces how she didn’t live with extended family as a child in Canada. Soon after that, she and Anna’s father decide to take their children on a vacation without the extended family — a concept that bewilders everyone else!
Instead of finding it restful, Anna’s parents find it surprisingly difficult to care for their three young children without the rest of their family.
“Three children and a husband are too much for one woman alone. We must help each other!” Anna’s mother concludes after some hilarious misadventures.
While my kids laughed and laughed at this chapter, I found myself nodding along. We aren’t meant to raise our children in isolation. We are meant to be part of a tightly woven network of friends and family, looking out for each other and caring for each other as the Body of Christ.
A family-positive book
I’ve never encountered a book series that celebrates family and connections quite like this one does. It’s refreshing to see a family with such positive, loving, and respectful relationships in a modern children’s series.
While parents will cheer for the positive messages of compassion, communication, and honoring ancestors and heritage, children will delight in reading Anna Hibiscus’s adventures and reading about daily life in what is presumably Nigeria.
If you’re wondering whether your kids will like it, I want to share an endorsement from my seven-year-old, who was a reluctant reader and still hadn’t started reading chapter books halfway through her first-grade year. Anna Hibiscus was the book that got her reading on her own. I treasure the memories of watching her become totally immersed in the series for hours at a time — and then playing that she was Anna Hibiscus with her siblings!
Dessert and questions
We recently read this book for our children’s book club, and I made a Nigerian dessert called puff-puff for the occasion, which proved very popular with everyone. I definitely recommend it if you want to extend the connection to the story with a yummy recipe Anna Hibiscus might have enjoyed.
The Anna Hibiscus series is available on audiobook on Hoopla and would be a great option for a summer road trip or for a child’s afternoon quiet time while working on coloring books or a puzzle.
The series is just one of the wonderful reads on Aleteia’s 2024 Summer Book List for Kids. Check out the entire list to learn about more books your kids will love!
Discussion questions
- What are some ways that Anna Hibiscus’s life in Africa is similar to or different from your life?
- Anna’s cousins help her to be brave. Who makes you feel brave when you’re around them?
- How does Anna Hibiscus learn about respecting other people’s work?
- Little siblings can be a handful! How does Anna Hibiscus handle it when her twin baby brothers get into mischief?
- Why does it make the family so happy when Auntie Comfort remembers their special traditions even after she’s been living in America for a while?
- Do you think snow is as wonderful as Anna Hibiscus imagines? Is there something you think sounds wonderful about a faraway place?
And today we celebrate...