MAMA ELIZABETI

Lightning doesn’t strike twice, but this sweet sequel to the wonderful, award-winning Elizabeti’s Doll (1998) will hit a chord in any child who has had to care for a younger sibling. Mama has a new baby, Flora, so Elizabeti must leave her stone doll Eva in a corner and watch little Obedi. Surely taking care of Eva has prepared her for a day with Obedi. But what a pest he is, spilling rice she has just cleaned, wriggling so much on her back that she can’t balance the water jug on her head, and toddling away unnoticed to play hide-and-seek. How did Mama ever get anything done? Hale again gives the Tanzanian village in which this is set a dusty, open spareness, gracefully posing tall, brightly clad adults, capturing Elizabeti’s love and worry (never anger) with clearly drawn, unexaggerated gestures and expressions. Though too young to talk, Obedi comes across as an individual, too, with content, mischief, sadness, and relief chasing each other across his mobile features. After supper, as Mama cradles Flora, Elizabeti rocks Obedi to sleep in her arms—a peaceful end to a trying, important day in her life. (Picture book. 6-8)