My Painted House, My Friendly Chicken, and Me [Hardcover]

Maya Angelou (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 10, 1994 | Age Level: 6 and up

Full color photographs. "Hello, Stranger-Friend" begins Maya Angelou's story about Thandi, a South African Ndebele girl, her mischievous brother, her beloved chicken, and the astonishing mural art produced by the women of her tribe.  With never-before-seen photographs of the very private Ndebele women and their paintings, this unique book shows the passing of traditions from parent to child and introduces young readers to a new culture through a new friend.  

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The poet laureate here adopts the voice of an eight-year-old Ndebele girl of South Africa, who addresses the reader as her "stranger-friend." Thandi, whose name means Hope, describes some of her favorite things: the chicken to whom she confides her secrets, the intricately painted houses in her village, the beads her mother strings. Thandi's narration is strong and direct, and provides a lively introduction to a long-neglected people and culture. Its attempts to embrace the reader, however, seem somewhat strained ("You may call me friend, and I would like to call you friend"), and the use of many sizes and arrangements of type creates some choppiness. The accompanying photographs, on the other hand, do full justice to the brilliant colors of the beadwork, blankets and decorated houses of Thandi's village, and to the various attitudes of the carefully adorned people in it. Regrettably, they offer no more than a glimpse of the landscape nor any larger view of the village as a whole, thus inadvertently narrowing the book's scope. Ages 6-10.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-3-A superb portrayal of Ndebele village life and art for young children. "Hello Stranger-friend" begins eight-year-old Thandi as she stands in front of a brightly painted house. In a thoroughly child-true voice, she tells about her beloved chicken, her people's ideas of "good" (which is as close as they come to saying "beautiful"), their ways of making designs in paint or beads, her brother, and going to town. Courtney-Clarke's full-color photographs are stunning. The bold geometric wall-painting designs, for which the Ndebele are famous, dominate the attractively laid out pages, and the typeface varies with the information and emotions expressed by the narrator. This should be a particularly good choice for reading aloud, given its special qualities of language and its visual vitality. Beyond the delights it offers aesthetically, it will leave children with important impressions about the Ndebele (and thus about South Africa): that village life is warm and fun; that village and town life are different; that people there care a lot about beauty, that they care about doing well, and that they are very talented. A unique book that honors Africa by projecting images that are true and honors American children by giving them the very best.
Loretta Kreider Andrews, Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 6 and up
  
• Hardcover: 1 pages
• Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers; 1st edition (September 10, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0517596679
• ISBN-13: 978-0517596678
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7.9 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,766,573 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Maya Angelou has been waitress, singer, actress, dancer, activist, filmmaker, writer and mother. As well as her autobiography she has written several volumes of poetry, including 'On the Pulse of the Morning' for the inauguration of President Clinton. She now has a life-time appointment as Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University in North Carolina.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Anthopology for Children, November 3, 2002

By 

"acousticchica" (Cortland, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Painted House, My Friendly Chicken, and Me (Hardcover)

I am a senior in college, and an elementary education major with a minor in anthropology- when I found this book, I was estatic. Its beautiful photography is greatly complimented with Maya Angelou's flowing words. Humor, color, and the similarities with the Ndebele girl (Thandi, which means hope) are sure to attract children. They will learn that even though Thandi is across the world, all children share many similaries- a lesson that should be remembered, especially in modern times. I will definately use this in my classroom someday. Never have I seen such a great childrens book that is infused with anthropology and the study of a culture!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding children's story!, December 14, 1997

By 

[e-mail] (usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Painted House, My Friendly Chicken, and Me (Hardcover)

As a reading tutor, I have enjoyed sharing this book with my 4th grade students. It examins the differences of people, our different cultures, and is a colorful and enchanting story. My kids, both boys and girls are facinated by this book, and we always continue a dialogue with it. The recognize the author, as one their parents respect, and enjoy talking about it and laughing about the silly chicken.We have talked about trying to paint houses with a chicken feather, and may jsut try to do this during black history month! I adore this book!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must have in children's literature, April 10, 2008

By 

Mickey Mikeworth (Minneapolis, MN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My Painted House, My Friendly Chicken, and Me (Paperback)

If you are a children's literature fan this is a MUST have in your collection. Worth finding the collectors books because Maya Angeleou will forever hold a place in children's stories. The first editions of this softcover are going to be harder and harder to get. It has vivid photographs of the Ndebele people. Thandi the main character tells the story of her people and family and her best friend who is a chicken. She crosses culture lines and she will win the heart of anyone who has a child's heart, and the chicken is cute too. Great teacher's book, bet for under 5th grade, ESL is a great fit because the words are BIG and easy to recognize.