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It was a beautiful, sunny day on a beach in Africa. That’s
where Anna Hibiscus lives, and it’s where her whole family
was relaxing.
Everybody was having fun. Papa was with Uncle Tunde, and
they were visiting with fishermen. Some of the cousins were
on their phones, some were playing soccer, and Chocolate was
dumping sand on Angel. Even Mama was busy.
Anna Hibiscus watched the ocean waves as they splashed and
laughed. She wanted so much to splash, too, and she wanted
everyone else to come with her!
She asked Angel and Chocolate, but they were digging in the
sand. They invited Anna Hibiscus to play in the sand with
them, but that’s not what she wanted to do.
She asked Benz and Wonderful to splash with her in the
waves, but they didn’t even hear her. They were playing ball
with beach boys and that wasn’t what Anna Hibiscus wanted to
do, either.
She asked her girl cousins if they would like to go play in
the waves, but Clarity, Joy, and Common Sense said they were
messing with their phones and were “too big now for
playing.” Anna Hibiscus didn’t want to hear “too big,” so
she stomped away to watch the laughing waves some more.
Mama was braiding hair. Auntie Joli was working beneath an
umbrella. Auntie Grace was cooking corn. Papa was standing
by a boat, deep in conversation and everybody knows that men
don’t stop talking. Even Grandmother and Grandfather were
busy asleep beneath their newspapers.
Anna Hibiscus looked at the waves again. She wanted to
splash in them. They wanted to splash with her, too. They
were laughing and dancing. She started laughing, too.
And then Anna Hibiscus jumped….
It’s been a long and difficult winter. On many occasions,
I’ll bet you dreamed of tropical things. So maybe now’s the
time to put sand between your toes, the sound of ocean in
your ears, and Splash, Anna Hibiscus! in your hands.
If you can’t tell by looking at the cover of this cute book,
there’s a lot of joy in the story of a little girl who just
wants to play in the water. Author Atinuke and illustrator
Lauren Tobia, in fact, make this one of the happiest books
you’ll ever read to your children: there’s no pouting, no
whining, just glee in what lies beyond the sand.
Just one caveat: careful parents of three-to-seven-year-olds
might want to have a “don’t go in the water alone” talk
while reading this book. Do that, then immerse yourselves in
the delight of this adorable story. For both of you,
Splash, Anna Hibiscus! is a book you’ll look at again
and again. |
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