Tag Archives: Black Beauty

Sulwe

AGES 4 - 8, BOOK REVIEW, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Title: Sulwe 

Author: Lupita Nyong’o Illustrator: Vashti Harrison

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers

Number of pages: 48

Type of Book: Fiction; African, Magical Realism, Folktale 

Age: 4 – 8

Buy it here: https://rhbooks.com.ng/product/sulwe-by-lupita-nyongo-and-vashti-harrison/; https://www.amazon.com/Sulwe-Lupita-Nyongo/dp/1534425365

Price: N4000; $11.78

MY SUMMARY

Little Sulwe’s skin is as dark as midnight. She is the darkest member of her family and the darkest child in school. This makes her very sad. Slew desperately wants to be bright and beautiful like her sister Mich, whose skin is the colour of high noon. She wants to be light-skinned so she’ll be loved and accepted and make new friends.

So, Sulwe tries to lighten her skin. She eats bright foods, tries to rub her skin off, and even applies her mum’s makeup but nothing works. Poor Sulwe stays sad until one night, she goes on a magical journey that shows her that she’s beautiful, just the way she is. 

THUMBS UP AND DOWN

UP:The art. I am a lover of Vashti Harrison’s art and as usual, she outdid herself. She brought Sulwe to life with vibrant illustrations. 

I love the story-within-a-story structure. The folktale within the story adds a magical element to the story and makes it even more entertaining.

I like that there are so many teaching opportunities in this story. My kids and I had a whole discussion about the way God answers prayers; because they wanted to know why God didn’t answer Sulwe’s prayer.  

I love the premise of the story. In Lupita’s words, “Sulwe holds up a mirror for dark-skinned children.” I love that Sulwe’s story deals with the universal human need to be loved and accepted while staying true to one’s self in a very child-friendly manner. 

It’s a heartwarming story, it builds confidence and it’s quite entertaining. I loved every bit of it, my boys loved it too. We’ve read it countless times and we highly recommend it. 

DOWN: None.

RATING

* * * * *

TRIVIA

  1. Sulwe is Academy Award-Winning Actress, Lupita Nyongo’s, debut children’s book. 
  2. Like Sulwe, Lupita was teased and taunted in school because of her dark skin. 

HAVE FUN WITH THIS BOOK

  1. Read an excerpt here: https://www.amazon.com/Sulwe-Lupita-Nyongo/dp/1534425365  (Click on the look inside feature on the amazon website)
  2. Download some fun exercises here: https://d28hgpri8am2if.cloudfront.net/tagged_assets/5367491/9781534425361_cg_sulwe%20curriculum%20guide.pdf

CHALLENGE: Sulwe

CREATE (WRITE a Story/Poem OR DRAW)

Read the excerpt and answer the questions below:

  1. List 4 things Sulwe did to become light-skinned (4 – 6 year olds)
  2. Write a 100-word essay. Topic: What does real beauty mean to you? (7 – 8 year olds)

OR

3. Sulwe wants to be light-skinned, so that she can make friends like her light-skinned sister. If Sulwe were your sister, what advice would you give her? (7 – 8 year olds)

Send your answers to ugochinyelu.anidi@gmail.com

Entry requirements: Entrants must be within the 4 – 8 age range. The first correct entry will be announced on this page and will win a copy of this book.

Answers must be submitted before 12:00am on Sunday, October 4th2020.

Next Book of the Week:

TOO SMALL TOLA by Atinuke

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Black Beauty

AGES 8 - 12, BOOK REVIEW, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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Title: Black Beauty

Author: Anna Sewell

Publisher: Award Publications

Number of pages: 240

Type of Book: Classic

Age: 8+

Buy it here: http://www.learnington-ng.com/literature/223-black-beauty-by-anna-sewell.html ; https://www.amazon.com/Black-Beauty-Award-Essential-Classics/dp/1841358444

Price: N1500; $15

MY SUMMARY

This book is an autobiography of a vivacious and kind horse, Black Beauty. Told in his voice, it chronicles the joys, pains and highs and lows of his life as he is passed from one owner to the other over the course of fourteen years. His young life as a colt is described as happy and carefree whilst adult life brings with it cruel owners, an accident which scars his knees and makes him lose his status as a fashionable horse for carriages, ushering in the the hard life of pulling cabs and cab drivers and the death of a friend. Black Beauty finally finds a wonderful home in which to live out his days and where he regains the happiness and vigour of his youth as well as his first name! Read the book to see the world through the eyes of a horse!

THUMBS UP AND DOWN

UP: It gives the reader a sneak peek into life in England in the 19th century and also shows readers the world through an animal’s eyes. But most importantly, it makes readers aware of cruelties animals endure from humans.

DOWN: None.

RATING

4 Stars

TRIVIA

  1. The story is set in 19th century England and was first published in 1877.
  2. Checkrein: A rein used to keep a horse’s head in the position desired by the rider. In the 19th century, it was quite fashionable to use checkreins to hold horse heads up high. This was incredibly painful for the horses and sometimes caused trauma to their neck, back and spine.
  3. Some of the names Black Beauty was called by his numerous owners: Black Auster, Jack, Old Crony.
  4. Beauty’s special features? A shiny white star on her forehead, a single white hoof, an incredibly bright black coat and a small patch of white hair on his back.
  5. Black Beauty’s favourite pastimes at Birtwick: Running, lying down, nibbling the grass and standing and talking with his friends under the apple tree.
  6. Beauty’s animal friends: Merrylegs, Ginger, Sir Oliver, Captain.

CHALLENGE: Black Beauty

CREATE (WRITE a Story/Poem OR DRAW)

  1. Write a 300-word essay on animal cruelty in Nigeria. (8 – 9 year olds)

OR

  1. Get down on all fours and pretend to be a dog for 10 minutes. Write a 200-word story about the things around you. Use all your senses.

OR

  1. Draw Black Beauty using only these details:

“My coat had grown fine and soft, and was bright black. I had one white foot and a pretty white star on my forehead. A patch of white hair sparkled right in the middle of my back

culled from Black Beauty by Bendon Classics

 

  1. Write a 600-word essay on animal cruelty in Nigeria (10-12 year olds)

OR

  1. Get down on all fours and pretend to be a cat for 10 minutes. Write a 400-word story about the things around you. Use all your senses.

OR

  1. Draw Black Beauty using only these details:

“My coat had grown fine and soft, and was bright black. I had one white foot and a pretty white star on my forehead. A patch of white hair sparkled right in the middle of my back

culled from Black Beauty by Bendon Classics

Send your answers to ugochinyelu.anidi@gmail.com

Entry requirements: Entrants must be within the 8-12 age range. The first correct entry will be announced on this page and will win a copy of this book.

Answers must be submitted before 12:00am on Sunday, January 29th 2017.

 

Next Book of the Week:

THE STORY OF ISLAM by Rob Lloyd Jones

 

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photo credit: amazon.com