Welcome Home, Anna Hibiscus!

Anna Hibiscus is back in this delightful fifth chapter-book devoted to her adventures! Newly returned to her home in Africa, after her time spent with her maternal grandmother in Canada - an experience chronicled in the fourth installment of the series, Have Fun, Anna Hibiscus! - Anna is happy at the reunion with her family, but dismayed to discover, in the first story, Welcome Home, that both she and they have changed a bit. In Snow White, Anna hatches a chick, and gains a new pet - a very devoted but troublesome pet! Tiger Lily sees Anna's friend from Canada, in Africa to visit her father, come to call at the family compound. Although not as wealthy as Tiger Lily's father, Anna's family offers the company and fun that the other little girl has been lacking. Finally, in Anna's Stories, Anna Hibiscus cheers up her tired Grandfather by telling him some of the village stories she learned from Auntie Jumoke on the plain ride to Canada, inspiring him to announce that he will visit his ancestral village, far out in the bush...

Much like its predecessors, Welcome Home, Anna Hibiscus! is a charming book, with an engaging, entertaining and ultimately heartwarming narrative from expatriate Nigerian author Atinuke, and appealing illustrations from artist Lauren Tobia. I don't think I've mentioned, in my reviews of the other books in the series, but the Tobia's artwork has greatly enhanced my reading pleasure! As for the stories here, they are humorous and at time poignant. I continue to appreciate the way that Atinuke explored the cultural differences between Nigeria (the country is never specified, but given Atinuke's background, that would be my assumption) and Canada, especially as evidenced by the different attitudes toward dogs. It is precisely this that precipitates Anna's realization that she has been changed by her experiences in Canada, and that she is now a little different than her relatives. Her conclusion that this doesn't really matter, because they still love her, and she them, is sweet. Recommended to readers who enjoyed the previous installments of the series. I myself finished it with a desire to pick up the next one, Go Well, Anna Hibiscus!, which describes our heroine's visit to the ancestral village. ( )