Osa's Pride - Softcover

Ann Grifalconi

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0590470949 ISBN 13: 9780590470940

Publisher: Scholastic, 1993

Synopsis

1990 LITTLE BROWN & COMPANY stapled-wraps SOFTCOVER

About this title

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 4-- Grifalconi takes readers back to the African village of round and square houses for a story about family caring and the warmth of a tight community of loving adults and eager children. Seven-year-old Osa's pride is evident from her haughty stance and expression on the cover. She is proudest of her father, who never came home from the great war, and she makes up stories about his bravery for the village children. So full of her own stories is she that she doesn't listen to any of theirs, and soon she is left to play alone. Gran'ma Tika begins a story about a vain girl who carries a basket of eggs on her head, but her head is stuck up so high that the eggs fall out. A parade of people walk behind her laughing and catching her eggs, but she is too proud to look back. Gran'ma wisely asks Osa to help her come up with an ending for the story. Osa has to think through a solution and learns something about herself. Throughout, she remains a perky little enthusiast with a zest for life that is revealed primarily through her body language. Close-ups of Osa's face with her large, telling eyes add to her believability and to readers' involvement in the story. There is a luminous quality to these pastels that seem to leap from the page to capture the heat of the land and the colors of village life. Golds and oranges dominate the earth tones, while brilliant blues and greens add emphasis. Unlike many stories in the folk tradition, this one does not distance readers; rather, the characters and the pace of the telling invite them into this satisfying book. --Kay E. Vandergrift, School of Communication, Information and Library Studies, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly

Set in the same African village as The Village of Round and Square Houses and Darkness and the Butterfly , this tale of (an older) Osa concerns her excessive pride--so great that she makes up stories in order to make herself feel better than all her friends. One day her grandmother takes her aside and tells her a gentle fable that helps her see how dangerous false pride can be, and, at the same time, helps her laugh at herself. Osa's Pride addresses an important topic but, with the exception of Gran'ma's tale, Grifalconi spends too much time preaching a message and too little time telling a story. Artistically, the book is superb: the pictures capture the community life and Osa's personal struggle with vivid images and rich, vibrant colors. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Scholastic
• Publication date: 1993
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0590470949
• ISBN 13: 9780590470940
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 32