Anna Hibiscus' Song (review)

This is the picture-book debut for Anna Hibiscus, who lives in "Amazing Africa" and who has previously appeared in a series of early chapter books. In this exuberant story, Anna perches at the top of a mango tree, looking down on the members of her extended family and rejoicing in her good fortune to the point where she is so happy that "she almost floats out of the tree." Her family members offer advice on less precarious ways of celebrating joy, from counting the reasons for happiness to dancing to doing cartwheels, and each encounter makes Anna even happier until she is almost bursting with delight. In the end, Anna chooses to sing, and she composes an on-the-spot jingle about her happy feelings that she belts from the top of the mango tree. There's not a whole lot of plot here, and the happiness theme could grow a bit thin were Anna not such a vivacious, affectionate child; instead, this is a tightly patterned ode to joy that features a close-knit extended family in an interesting setting. Tobia's airy illustrations, homey lines tinted with planes of digital color, vividly capture the warmth of Anna's family and village and offer relevant cultural details (the aunties' patterned head wraps and skirts, the lush gardens). Anna herself is portrayed as an energetic little girl with light brown skin (her father is black, her mother white) and cornrows, zinging around town in her raspberry-colored dress. Partner this with Cunnane's Chirchir Is Singing (BCCB 10/11) for a melodious pairing of irrepressible African girls who just can't stop themselves from expressing their joy.