Mama Elizabeti [School & Library Binding]

Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen (Author), Christy Hale (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up | Series: Elizabeti

Elizabeti has a new baby sister. With her mother busy with the baby, Elizabeti now has to help take care of her younger brother, Obedi. She thinks she knows what to do, after tending to her own "baby," a rock doll named Eva. But in this tender sequel to Elizabeti's Doll, she finds that looking after a real child isn't so easy.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2-Stuve-Bodeen builds on the poignant themes of Elizabeti's Doll (Lee & Low, 1998), while giving readers an expanded view of life in this African village. The child's day is filled with sweeping, washing, and picking rocks from the rice. She must also look after her young brother, as Mama has a new baby who needs care. Securing Obedi to her back with a kanga, Elizabeti confidently starts out on her way to the village well. However, Obedi is a squirmer, he's mischievous, plus he's heavy. Finally, Elizabeti drops her water jug and slumps in despair. She sets the boy down and quickly fetches the water. When she returns, he's gone, but her fears turn to joy as he takes his first toddling steps back to her and gives her a loud, wet kiss. Getting home is no longer a problem; Elizabeti simply ties the kanga from her waist to his and lets him walk. While the child's challenges as a caregiver are specific to her environment, the frustrations she feels are universal. Readers might see her life as a hardship, but no such emotion is expressed. The illustrations bring this world alive. 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.
Martha Topol, Traverse Area District Library, Traverse City, MI
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

The sequel to Elizabeti's Doll (1998) moves the story of a family living in contemporary Tanzania forward by adding a baby to big sister Elizabeti's family. Elizabeti feels confindent when her mother asks her to help care for her toddler brother, Obedi. After all, she's been caring for her rock doll since Obedi was born. But as Elizabeti discovers, it's complicated to watch out for Obedi as she goes about her chores of sweeping the sod floor of their hut, picking rocks out of the rice, and fetching water. A crisis comes when Elizabeti, puzzling over how to get both the water jug and her wriggling brother back home from the village well, loses track of Obedi. Stuve-Bodeen gives young readers an opportunity to explore another culture through the familiar problem of caring for a troublesome sibling as Hale's mixed-media illustrations catch the rich textures of African clothing, their muted backgrounds emphasizing the characters in the wise story with an ultimately happy end. Connie Fletcher
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• School & Library Binding: 32 pages
• Publisher: Lee & Low Books (May 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1584300027
• ISBN-13: 978-1584300021
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 9 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,572,584 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reading Strategy and Multi Cultural, August 21, 2000

By 

Michael S Roberts - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mama Elizabeti (School & Library Binding)

After reading Mama Elizabeti by Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen, it appears that in this book the author's shares her knowledge as well as her experience from her days in the Peace Corps. The author also demonstrates the connection with a reading strategy known as text to world. Using this strategy she shows that there are similarities from other cultures of the world to our own. I recommend that this book be used as an excellent example to demonstrate how children throughout the world help their parents and find that growing up is part of a continuing learning experience. The book explains to children that as they grow up and learn, they will find not only joy and gratification in helping their parents and siblings, but they will also become aware that they do not need to give up their childhood pleasures and experiences. The book gives the reader the feeling that each person will find the time to enjoy things from the past, present, and future. It is a book that might be shared between parent and child, or in a classroom setting. It is a wonderful example of multicultural reading. I would also highly recommend this book to be used to model as well as be a starting point for discussion of the reading strategy: text to world. It is often difficult to find books that help teachers teach both multicultural experiences and strategies, this book is an example of both.

5.0 out of 5 stars My daughter loves this book!, October 27, 2011

By 

Carol Sue (Oakland, CA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mama Elizabeti (Paperback)

This book and its companion book, Elizabeti's Doll are perfect for preschool and primary school-age children who are getting interested in dolls. My almost-four-year-old is an only child but she likes to play "big sister" to smaller children. The story and illustrations tenderly show how a slightly older sister takes care of her toddler brother in an East African Village.

5.0 out of 5 stars Happy family, February 3, 2010

By 

Artistic Maven (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mama Elizabeti (Paperback)

I enjoy reading to my children and Mama Elizabeti along with the entire series is a must have for every mom. The book depicts a loving African family bonded together by devotion with love over flowing. Every baby born into this world should receive the great love of a family. Wonderful book for any age and stage, my grandmother, 2 year old niece and nephew also loved Mama Elizabeti.