#30 - For you are a Keyan Child

For you are a Kenyan Child
Written By: Kelly Cunnane
Illustrated by: Ana Juan
Atheneum Books
2006
40 pages

Multicultural Picture Book

    This book is a story about the typical life of a young Kenyan boy. The book goes through his entire day starting with him waking up and going though all his daily activities. The boys chore for the day is to take care of his grandfather's cows. He is supposed to take them to the pasture and watch them carefully. Like a true child he begins to get distracted as he talks with the other villagers. He begins to forget about the cows in the pasture. When he finally remembers the cows he rushes to the pasture, but the cows are gone. The boy starts to go home when he runs into his grandfather and he has all of the cows with him. The boy is surprised by how understanding his grandfather is about the situation. They both return home together.
    The illustrations are done with paint and the characters have a cartoonish appearance. The settings contain a lot of nature and details. The colors are very bright and vibrant. The illustrations also have a very humorous style to them. There is no harsh outline and everything blends together smoothly. The text is informal.    
    I would use this book in a lower elementary classroom. This book would be great to talk about the culture in Kenya. This book contains a lot of Swahili words, and it has a glossary of the definitions at the end. Students could also compare their daily routine to the boy's in the story. They could write their own version.

Twende nyumbani Sasa - Lets go Home
-Grandfather