Grandmother School

by Rina Singh, Ellen Rooney (Illustrator)

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781459819054
Publisher:	Orca Book Publishers
Publication date:	05/05/2020
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	541,252
Product dimensions:	8.75(w) x 10.75(h) x 0.38(d)
Age Range:	6 - 8 Years

About the Author

Rina Singh has published several critically acclaimed books for children inspired by her Indian Canadian heritage, including Diwali Lights, Holi Colors and Diwali: A Festival of Lights, which was nominated for the Red Cedar Award. Rina’s own grandmother never got the chance to go to school. Grandmother School is dedicated to her memory. Rina lives in Toronto with her family.

Ellen Rooney is a 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. Originally from Massachusetts, she now lives in the southern Okanagan Valley in British Columbia.

Editorial Reviews

Offers its readers a poignantly lively picture book that expressly reveals the power and freedom found in words for women across the world. How great a treat it will be to read this book in a grandmother’s lap. Highly Recommended.

CM: Canadian Review of Materials

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.

Here Wee Read blog

Gorgeous…Colors are crisp and contemporary…Provides a surprising angle to the growing body of children’s books about gender inequality and the continued work of pioneers like Aaji.

Booklist

"The connection between the little girl and the grandmother is the touching heart of this story."

Canadian Children's Book News

A wonderful and poignant story about the need for literacy and how vital learning to read is.

The Globe and Mail

2020-05-17
Inspired by a real-life school for older, illiterate women in western India, a picture book about women’s education and empowerment and the love between a grandmother and her granddaughter.

The story is narrated by a girl who tells of her aaji’s school: “She rushes through her chores so she can change into her uniform—a bright pink sari…. / Then I take her hand in mine and walk her to school.” When Aaji first learns to spell her name, she and her granddaughter do “a little dance”; both characters’ joy is evident on the page—and infectious. Similarly, readers will cheer when Aaji shows the “rude man behind the counter” at the bank that she can sign her name; he had always dismissed her, saying “people who gave thumbprints instead of signatures [had] to wait.” Aaji’s triumphant smile says it all. Crucially, Singh makes it clear that even though Aaji may be just now learning to read and write, the stories she tells the narrator at night are as vivid as any book’s. Rooney’s vibrant, multimedia illustrations complement the text’s exuberance and positivity, incorporating Marathi script into several spreads. An author’s note details the establishment of Aajibaichi Shala in 2016 by local schoolteacher Yogendra Banger, who wanted everyone in his village to be able to read and write—including women who were once denied this opportunity.

A spirited book about gender, age, rights, and the importance of education. (Picture book. 6-8)

Kirkus Reviews

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