Children's Fiction School & Education
Grandmother School Read-Along
- Publisher
- Orca Book Publishers
- Initial publish date
- Apr 2020
- Category
- School & Education, Grandparents, Girls & Women
- Recommended Age
- 6 to 8
- Recommended Grade
- 1 to 3
- Recommended Reading age
- 6 to 8
-
eBook
- ISBN
- 9781459826687
- Publish Date
- Apr 2020
- List Price
- $16.99
Classroom Resources
Where to buy it
Description
Every morning, a young girl walks her grandmother to the Aajibaichi Shala, the school that was built for the grandmothers in her village to have a place to learn to read and write. The narrator beams with pride as she drops her grandmother off with the other aajis to practice the alphabet and learn simple arithmetic. A moving story about family, women and the power of education—when Aaji learns to spell her name you’ll want to dance along with her.
Women in countless countries continue to endure the limitations of illiteracy. Unjust laws have suppressed the rights of girls and women and kept many from getting an education and equal standing in society. Based on a true story from the village of Phangane, India, this brilliantly illustrated book tells the story of the grandmothers who got to go to school for the first time in their lives.
About the authors
Rina Singh is a children’s author and poetry slam coach whose curiosity and love for storytelling shape the heart of her books. Rooted in real-life events and the untold stories they hold, her writing spans themes of environmental justice, social change, and the magic woven into everyday life. Her critically acclaimed titles include Grandmother School, winner of the Christie Harris Illustrated Children’s Literature Prize; Diwali: A Festival of Lights, nominated for the Red Cedar Award; and Once, a Bird. Her picture book Barefoot Skateboarders is based on a true story set in rural India.
Ellen Rooney is an award-winning designer, artist and children’s book illustrator. Her textural mixed media artwork combines many traditional art techniques, like pencil drawing, painting, printmaking and collage, often combined with digital techniques. She is the winner of the 2021 Christie Harris Illustrated Children's Literature Prize for Grandmother School. Originally from Massachusetts, she now lives in the southern Okanagan Valley in British Columbia.
Kirstie Hudson is an editor and writer in Victoria, British Columbia. She was a reporter and producer with the CBC in Toronto, Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Victoria. In her award-winning career as a journalist, Kirstie's work was recognized with a Jack Webster Award, Radio Television Digital News Association Awards and a Gabriel Award. As an instructor at the University of Victoria and Royal Roads University, Kirstie shared her love of storytelling with students in writing, communications and journalism. She co-authored Picking Up the Pieces: Residential School Memories and the Making of The Witness Blanket with Carey Newman. In 2020, the book was a finalist for the City of Victoria Butler Book Prize and the Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Nonfiction.
Awards
- Nominated, Saskatchewan Young Readers' Choice Awards - Shining Willow
- Winner, BC and Yukon Book Prizes - Christie Harris Illustrated Children's Literature Prize
- Short-listed, The Egghead - The Doug Wright Award for best kids’ book
- Nominated, Forest of Reading Blue Spruce Award
- Commended, Ontario Library association (OLA) Best Bets
- Commended, CCBC Best Books for Kids & Teens, starred selection
Other titles by
Bird Brothers, A Delhi Story
Barefoot Skateboarders
Les planchistes aux pieds nus
The Lion Queen
Rasila Vadher, the First Woman Guardian of the Last Asiatic Lions
Imagine a Garden
Stories of Courage Changing the World
Once, a Bird
111 Trees
How One Village Celebrates the Birth of Every Girl
Grandmother School
A Meeting in the Sky
Diwali
Festival of Lights
