Rating: *** 3 stars

Ifeoma Onyefulu,
Grandma Comes to Stay
Frances Lincoln, 2009.

Deron Goes to Nursery School
Frances Lincoln, 2009.

 Ages 3-5

These photo books are pleasing to the eye and physically easy to handle. Using photographs of authentic locations and real families in Ghana, the author gives a glimpse of real life events as experienced by three-year-old Stephanie in the first title and four-year-old Deron in the second. The photographs are very subtly framed, one or two to a page, and, with plenty of white space around them and the text, are visually engaging. The text is appropriately simple and clear in a good size and slightly unusual font, matching the pictures aptly for the intended purpose of these kinds of books.

In Grandma Comes to Stay we see Stephanie doing the kind of things all three-year-olds do but within her own cultural context. The same goes for Deron going to school, as we see him starting nursery – there’s playtime and lunchtime, singing and dancing, nap time and so on, but with some obvious differences from nurseries in Britain and therefore lots to compare and contrast. Good, well-produced titles to have in early years to help broaden children’s awareness of life in another country.

Urmi Chana
March 2010, No. 181

Guide to the rating system:
***** 5 stars, unmissable
**** 4 stars, very good
*** 3 stars, good
** 2 stars, fair
* 1 star, poor