Kenya's Word

Children's Literature

This is a thoroughly delightful story that will keep even the adult reader in suspense until the ending. Daydreaming Kenya loves school and wants to please her teacher, but she hears only half the directions and brings in a tarantula instead of the word for her favorite pet, and ice cream that melts instead of the word for her favorite food. Kenya finally succeeds when assigned to choose a favorite adjective. Buoyed by her discovery that all the colors of the rainbow mixed together make black, Kenya delights teacher and students with her word. Teachers can use this book as an exciting introduction to writing, including parts of speech and vocabulary work. Supported by Johnson's vibrant illustrations of a doe-eyed, inquisitive Kenya, Trice provides a healthy menu of reasons why black is beautiful. 2006, Charlesbridge, and Ages 5 to 9.
—Mary Bowman-Kruhm, Ph.D.

School Library Journal

K-Gr 2-When her homework assignment is to bring in "the word that names your favorite kind of pet," Kenya isn't listening, and she comes to class with her tarantula. When asked to be prepared to talk about favorite foods, the girl brings in a paper bag with ice cream that melts all over her desk. And when her teacher asks the students to bring in their "favorite describing word," Kenya spends the weekend thinking about adjectives. She chooses "Black-all the colors of the rainbow together," and the color of all of her favorite things. Unfortunately, the "black is beautiful" message seems a tad too obvious and forced. The average-quality paintings are warm and energetic, and avoid distracting detail. The style enhances the text for young readers trying to grasp the concepts of nouns and adjectives. Useful for reinforcing lessons on parts of speech and for eliciting discussions of ethnic respect.-Mary Hazelton, Elementary Schools in Warren & Waldoboro, ME Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.