Elizabeti’s School

By Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen, Christy Hale

In this contempory Tanzanian story, author Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen and artist Christy Hale once again bring the sweet innocence of Elizabeti to life. Readers are sure to recognize this young child’s emotions as she copes with her first day of school and discovers the wonder and joy of learning.

Front cover for La escuela de Elizabeti by Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen and Christy Hale
This book is also available in Spanish
La escuela de Elizabeti
By Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen, Christy Hale

Description

It’s the first day of school and Elizabeti can hardly wait. She puts on her new uniform and feels her shiny shoes. School must surely be a very special place!

Shortly after arriving at school, however, Elizabeti begins to miss her family. What if Mama needs help cleaning the rice? What if her baby sister wants to play? What if her little brother wants to go for a walk? But soon Elizabeti is making friends and learning her lessons. Best of all, she shares her experiences with her family that evening – and can apply what she has learned right away.

In this contempory Tanzanian story, author Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen and artist Christy Hale once again bring the sweet innocence of Elizabeti to life. Readers are sure to recognize this young child’s emotions as she copes with her first day of school and discovers the wonder and joy of learning.

About the Creators

Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen

Stephanie Stuve-Bodeenwas a Peace Corps volunteer in Tanzania and was inspired to write the Elizabeti series from this experience. The series has won numerous awards. She now lives in Wisconsin with her family.

Christy Hale

Christy Haleis the author and illustrator of several acclaimed children's books, including four published by Lee & Low, and she has illustrated numerous other award-winning picture books as well. Hale also works in the children's book field as an art director, a designer, and an educator, offering programs at schools, libraries, and museums. She lives with her husband in Palo Alto, California. You can learn more about her at christyhale.com.

Awards

  • Best Children's Books of the Year

    Bank Street College of Education

Reviews

  • "This is the perfect story for sharing with young children."

    - School Library Journal
  • "Throughout, Stuve-Bodeen distills the essence of the school experience, perfectly capturing a child's emotional state and confirming the universality of first-day jitters. Accented with lively African-inspired paper, Hale's illustrations contain the texture of Tanzania. Together, the talented team offers up another winning peek at a life that's different but the same."

    - Kirkus Reviews
  • "A skillful mix of the familiar, the unfamiliar, and the downright idyllic."

    - Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
  • Elizabeti, the little girl with the rock doll (Elizabeti's Doll, rev. 11/98) and the demanding but affectionate little brother (Mama Elizabeti, rev. 7/00), is going to school for the first time. As in the previous books, Stuve-Bodeen tells a story at once universal and specific, set in a contemporary Tanzanian village. . . Details of the school day root the story in its place and bring Elizabeti's world to life. Hale's mixed-media illustrations are once again striking in their juxtaposition of softly speckled backgrounds with brightly patterned fabrics; here they match even more exactly the intimate quality of the text, with effective use of close-ups and warm family groupings. The book's message that home is "the best place to be" but that school has its uses, too, will resonate with anxious new pupils everywhere. Some readers might question Elizabeti's unfamiliarity with the schoolyard games and the numbers one through five (especially as her older, school-seasoned sister would presumably have brought home what she learned, just as Elizabeti does), but young children will be too busy grabbing Stuve-Bodeen's reassuring lifeline to notice.

    - The Horn Book

Paperback

  • ISBN 9781600602344
  • Publication Date Sep 01, 1998
  • Trim Size 9.25 × 8.25 in
  • Weight 0.375 lbs
  • Page Count 32
  • Hardcover

  • ISBN 9781584300434
  • Publication Date Sep 01, 1998
  • Trim Size N/A
  • Weight 0.4375 lbs
  • Page Count 32
  • Interests

  • Audience Children
  • BISAC Category 1 JUV / School & Education
  • BISAC Category 2 JUV / People & Places / Africa
  • BISAC Category 3 JUV / Social Themes / Emotions & Feelings
  • Themes African / African American / Black, Classroom Activities, Education, Fiction, Friendship, Games / Toys, Poverty, Realistic Fiction, Sharing & Giving, Siblings
  • Reading Levels

  • Age Range Ages 5 - 7
  • Grade Range Grades K - 2
  • Guided Reading M
  • ATOS Book Level 3.8
  • DRA 28
  • Lexile Code AD
  • Lexile Level 590
  • Reading Level Grades 2 - 3
  • SRC 3.7
  • Bebop Reading Early Fluent
  • This Book is Included in These Collections:

    • 96
      Early Fluent Dual Language
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