In the Small, Small Night

Written by Jane Kurtz
Illustrated by Rachel Isadora
Published in 2005

Why we picked this book:
T just pulled it off library shelf at random. It's so pleasing when the random selection turns out to be something as enjoyable as this was.

Mom's Review
Two immigrant children with concerns about their new life in America reassure one another with traditional stories from Ghana.

Abena wakes one night "in her strange new bed" to find her little brother Kofi snuggled beside her. He worries about forgetting their family in Ghana, so Abena tells familiar stories to reassure Kofi that she will help him remember their family. Kofi takes solace in the stories, and then uses the same tales to help his sister overcome her anxieties.

The frame narrative of two immigrant children with fears about their new life will resonate with children beginning a new stage in life. I particularly liked seeing how this book legitimized the children's fears, and that it suggested the use of stories when coping with them. The first time we read this was at nap time, and we found its message and warmth a fitting way to fall asleep.

Son's Review
(age 2 years and 11 months)

Mom: Did you like the story?

Son: Yeah. It was a good book.

Mom: What did you like about it?

Son: I liked that it was so long!
(It wasn't so long in reality, but perhaps having two fables plus a frame made him feel like it was long.)

Mom: If Abena and Kofi were real, would you want to be friends with them?

Son: Yes.

Mom: How did the book make you feel?

Son: Sad because he was worried that crocodiles and lizards were real[ly in his room that night].

Mom: Was the ending happy or sad?

Son: Happy because he didn't have to worry.