I really appreciated this book. The book contains real life photographs from Africa. The use of these real life photographs helps the reader to literally see what it is like. There are photos of each member of the girl’s life. The book is written in first person by a young girl named Obioma. She describes what life is like in her family and the accomplishments of her Ogbo. Ogbo means age group and the group has a role in the community’s life. Everyone has an Ogbo in this village. The girl describes how each Ogbo works, grows, and plays together. This book was descriptibve and informative. ( )

I really liked this book because the author went around the family to explain how their village worked. It showed that everyone had a critical part in making sure the village ran smoothly. I also liked how it was in th perspective of a little boy because by the end he realizes that the village is like one big family. You can see his realizations throughout the book. ( )

I enjoyed reading this book; I think it would be great for a classroom because it allows students to learn about a culture different than their own and do it through the eyes of a young girl that they may be able to relate to. This can help students think critically about themselves and the world around them. The book focuses on educating students about “ogbo,”
or age groups, that categorize the members of an African village and thus assign them their civilian duties. For example, the narrator has a brother in the age ten ogbo and he has just been given the duties of cleaning up the village. She also gives an example of her uncle, Chike, who helps build homes with his ogbo.The use of a narrator can allow students to be able to relate to the information and compare it to their own families and communities.

I also enjoyed the real-life images depicted on every page. It allows the reader to see what the community members do and how it looks in the concept of the whole village. The reader gets an inside view at the narrator’s brother sweeping, the mother cleaning the water stream, and even the aunt ceremonially becoming inducted as chief. Through everything that happens, students get to see actual images to go along with actual facts. I think that this aspect works very well for nonfiction and plays well with the big idea of the book. The book’s main point is to educate students about a culture unlike their own and learn about the different ways people live, specifically, how villages in Africa run. ( )

This book lightly touches on the typical family structure that one would find in Africa. I had mixed emotions about this book. I liked how this book showed how the family dynamic of an African family is structured with vivid, clear photographs. However, I didn't like how difficult the family dynamic was to follow; I wish there were a chart at the end of the book for reference. ( )

I liked this book for two ; first is that the language is very clear and informative. I never knew was an Ogbo (age group) was before reading this book. This book informed me through the African language what it is like growing up in an African village. My second reason for liking this book is for the illustrations. The book had real life photos of the children and adults working together to make their village a better place. For me, seeing what people in different parts of the world must do on a daily basis to survive opened my eyes. IN one photo, the woman uses a branch to “sweep” the dead leaves from the stream so the water is drinkable. This stood out for me because through one photo, I know how lucky I am to live the way I do and I give great blessings to those in other counties. The big idea in the book is to inform people of the different ways of life around the world and the fun put into making ( )