In My Heart
Molly Bang
For You Are a Kenyan Child
Kelly Cunnane, art by Ana Juan
Atheneum / $16.95 / Ages 5-7
For any children, this book suggests, there's often a pull between the chore they're supposed to be doing and the fun they'd rather be having. This little boy is supposed to be watching grandfather's cows, but he sees many other possibilities for the day, expressively rendered in Ana Juan's pictures, like visiting the village shops, chasing monkeys, having an afternoon snack that's a bug plucked from the air (no transfats there).
Mary Harris Russell teaches English at Indiana University Northwest. She wrote this article for the Chicago Tribune.