Mimi's Village: And How Basic Health Care Transformed It

by Katie Smith Milway, Eugenie Fernandes (Illustrator)

Overview

In this fictionalized story about a real humanitarian problem facing many countries in the developing world today, readers meet Mimi, an ordinary girl from an ordinary family in Africa. When her younger sister, Nakkissi, gets very sick after drinking unsterilized water from the stream, Mimi learns firsthand how quickly things can go terribly wrong. With no health care provider close by, her whole family must travel on foot to a nearby village to see the one nurse who can provide the medical care her sister desperately needs. Though Mimi is relieved when her sister recovers, she wishes they could get a health clinic in her own village. Several months later, it is Mimi herself who becomes the catalyst to make her wish come true.

Author Katie Smith Milway, a former aid worker in Africa, has written the best kind of global education book for children, filled with information that engenders empathy and understanding. The picture-book format with captivating artwork by award-winning illustrator Eugenie Fernandes brings Mimi's story to life. Along with further information, a glossary and a map, an addendum includes suggestions for how young children can get involved, highlighting how inexpensive, easy-to-make improvements can transform people's lives. This terrific book would find many uses in elementary classrooms, including lessons on African culture, African family life and the basic health care needs of people everywhere. Most important, it offers opportunities for inspiring discussions about compassion, volunteerism and making a difference in one's own community and the larger world community.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781554537228
Publisher:	Kids Can Press
Publication date:	08/01/2012
Series:	CitizenKid Series , #10
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 12.20(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	980L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Katie Smith Milway, a native of Vancouver, B.C., has coordinated community development programs in Africa and Latin America for Food for the Hungry; consulted on village banking in Senegal with World Vision and was a delegate to the 1992 Earth Summit. She has written books and articles on sustainable development and is currently a partner at nonprofit consultancy The Bridgespan Group, based in Boston, Massachusetts.

Eugenie Fernandes is an award-winning picture book author and illustrator. Her many works include the Little Mouse series, Earth Magic, One Hen and Kitten's Spring. She lives in southern Ontario.

Editorial Reviews

Readers will take much away from this, including an appreciation for their health-care resources and a desire to make a difference in the world.—Kirkus Reviews

With bright, lively acrylic illustrations, the story is followed with several informative spreads, including ways that young readers can help create change.—Booklist

... a great tool to use to expand children's worldviews about the basic needs of other kids around the world.—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

Gr 1–4—This book is part of a series that intends to educate and inspire youngsters to help other children around the world. Milway explains in simple language the dangers that millions of children face without access to fundamental health care such as vaccinations, basic medicine, proper pre- and postnatal care, and clean drinking water. While telling an engaging story of how Mimi's village in western Kenya comes to have its own clinic and nurse, the text relates the dangers the people face. The nurse brings not only medical supplies, but also the knowledge and education the village needs to be proactive against diseases and malnutrition. The story builds hope that these deadly forces are not insurmountable. The text and tone are not condescending-the villagers work together to build the clinic, petition the governmental health department, and eventually educate others about basic health care and sanitation. The illustrations are colorful, showing the vibrancy of the people, their dress, and the landscape. East African cultural references are woven into the text, allowing readers to gain knowledge of the languages, animals, and even foods of the region. This topic is a heavy one, but the book ends with several pages of practical, child-friendly suggestions about how readers can help others who lack these fundamental resources. It's a great tool to use to expand children's worldviews about the basic needs of other kids around the world.—Lisa Crandall, Capital Area District Library, Holt, MI

School Library Journal

This entry in the CitizenKid series successfully conveys to readers both the importance of health care/disease prevention and the limited availability of these in the third world. The fortunate good health of Mimi's family is threatened after a forbidden sip of stream water sickens her little sister. An hour-long walk to the clinic in the next village brings improved health to Nakkissi, vaccinations to all three children and a dream to Mimi of building a clinic in their own village. Determination and cooperation pay off three months later when Nurse Tela makes the first of her bi-weekly visits to dispense health care and instruction in hygiene, nutrition and the use of bed nets to prevent malaria. Backmatter introduces readers to a real "Nurse Tela" working in Zambia, details why basic health care is so important, and gives readers ideas on how they can make a difference. Fernandes' folk-art–style acrylic artwork is rich in patterns and beautifully portrays both village life and the Kenyan landscape. She skillfully uses the juxtaposition of foreground and background to match the illustrations with the extensive text, as when a leopard and hyena menacingly wait outside the hut where the family gathers around the ill child. Readers will take much away from this, including an appreciation for their health-care resources and a desire to make a difference in the world. (map, glossary) (Picture book. 6-10)

Kirkus Reviews