Mama Elizabeti

By Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen, Christy Hale
Paperback: $10.95

A girl in Africa learns how to help take care of her younger siblings, including a new baby sister.

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

Description

Elizabeti has a new baby sister, so now Elizabeti has to help take care of her younger brother, Obedi. Elizabeti knows just what to do. She has been taking care of her “baby,” a rock doll named Eva, since Obedi was a baby.

But taking care of a real child isn’t as easy as taking care of a rock doll. Elizabeti tries to sweep the floor, but Obedi pulls her hair. Elizabeti sifts rocks out of the rice, but Obedi spills it on the ground. When Elizabeti goes to get water, Obedi wiggles so much that the heavy water jug falls off her head. Poor Elizabeti. How will she get anything done?

Author Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen and artist Christy Hale team up again to tell a loving and tender story that all children – and mothers – can relate to, as Elizabeti discovers the true bond she has with her little brother. Mama Elizabeti, like Elizabeti’s Doll, will prove to be a classic for all ages.

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 Outstanding

    Bank Street College of Education

Reviews

  • "The community that surrounds the family is everpresent and add a layer of comfort to the overall story. This would make for a wonderful read-aloud...A realistic portrayal of familial bonds."

    - School Library Journal
  • * "Hale perfectly captures the spontaneity and totality of a toddler's love, and the intimacy among family members is heartwarming and palpable. This is a loving, sensitive book to be shared and cherished."

    - School Library Journal
  • "[T]his sweet sequel to the wonderful, award-winning Elizabeti's Doll will hit a chord in any child who has had to care for a younger sibling."

    - Kirkus Reviews
  • "This book shares with its predecessor a resolutely childlike point of view and a matter-of-fact presentation of another culture (that of rural Tanzania)."

    - The Horn Book

Paperback

  • ISBN 9781584302360
  • Publication Date May 22, 2005
  • Trim Size 9.5 × 8.5 × 1 in
  • Weight 0.4375 lbs
  • Page Count 32
  • Hardcover

  • ISBN 9781584300021
  • Publication Date May 22, 2005
  • Trim Size N/A
  • Weight 0.4375 lbs
  • Interests

  • Audience Children
  • BISAC Category 1 JUV / People & Places / Africa
  • BISAC Category 2 JUV / Family / Siblings
  • BISAC Category 3 JUV / Social Themes / Emotions & Feelings
  • Themes African / African American / Black, Childhood Experiences and Memories, Cultural Diversity, Families, Fiction, Games / Toys, Home, Identity / Self Esteem / Confidence, Imagination, Mothers, Poverty, Realistic Fiction, Responsibility, Siblings
  • Reading Levels

  • Age Range Ages 4 - 7
  • Grade Range Grades PreK - 2
  • Guided Reading M
  • Spanish Guided Reading N
  • ATOS Book Level 3.7
  • DRA 28
  • Lexile Code AD
  • Lexile Level 570
  • Reading Level Grades 2 - 3
  • SRC 3.2
  • Bebop Reading Early Fluent
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