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| Customer Reviews: | | Average Customer Review: ( 13 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
26 of 32 found the following review helpful:
 Mama Panya. Seriously?! Jun 06, 2008
By Anony(mouse)
I have not read the book, however, as a Kenyan I cannot get over the fact that the Mothers name is Mama Panya, which, translated, means "Mother of Rat" (similar to how "Mama Simon" = Mother of Simon, "Mama Mary" = Mother of Mary, etc).
As a sign of respect in Kenya, children often refer to adult women as "Mama X" where X is the name of one of her children (typically her eldest child). As such, the name Mama Panya suggests that this poor lady has a child named "Panya", a rat, which Kenyans consider one of the lowest/ nastiest animals. This makes the name "Panya" an unlikely name for anyone.
The author could certainly have selected a better name. I will not be purchasing this book despite the positive reviews it has received.
6 of 6 found the following review helpful:
 Nice story Apr 23, 2006
By JZK
My almost 3-year-old really enjoys when I read him this book. The text is not overlong, it's an smooth read, the dialogue is clever and the mother/son relationship has quite a bit of depth. The appendix page is good for older children to find out more details about Kenyan life, especially if they choose this book for a multicultural assignment.
It provides a surprising lesson on the pleasures of neighborliness.
5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
Adorable story! Aug 07, 2007
By Glover's Gal
"Lover of children's literature"
I found this book when I was searching for a story from Kenya. I was putting together a unit on Kenya for third graders and came across this book and fell in love with it. The mother and son have a sweet relationship and the message of sharing and community come through in the end. Wonderful illustrations and several reference pages at the end of the story. Mama Panya's recipe for pancakes are in there too. I made them and passed them around for my presentation.
I loved this book and used it for my unit and plan on purchasing it for my classroom in the future. A wonderful story!!
5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
 Great book -- and we like the recipe too! Jan 23, 2007
By A. Miller
We had fun with this book -- my daughter thought the boy was just being "bratty" until we talked about how everyone contributed and how sharing led to more for everyone. Then she "got it", and now requests we read it often. The recipe for the pancakes is also easy and kids are able to help. Great book -- we also loved the illustrations -- some parts reminded us of life in Haiti which our Haitian-American kids loved.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
My 4 year old loves this book! Nov 29, 2008
By J. Mederson
I've been reading this to my little boy ever since he turned four and he loves it. It's not only a good story about sharing, it's also helped us start many conversations about how different people live all over the world and it's given him a point of reference for conversations about Africa. I'd also recommend for kids five and up "Children of Hope," which is a great book that treats a delicate situation very well (it's about the Lost Boys of Sudan).
See all 13 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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