My Name is Blessing
by
Eric Walters & Eugenie Fernandes
Order:
USA
Can
Tundra, 2013 (2013)
Hardcover
Reviewed by Hilary Williamson
M
y Name is Blessing
by Eric Walters, and illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes, is based on the life of a real boy, Muthini, who grew up in Kenya. His Nyanya (grandmother) raised Muthini and eight other grandchildren, but had little to offer them or herself. But she gave them plenty of love.
L
ife was even harder for Muthini than for his cousins - he was born with no fingers on his left hand and only two on his right. People often made cruel comments, but his Nyanya said, '
It is so sad that other children only have ten fingers when you have a larger heart, a bigger brain, and a greater spirit.
'
O
ne day, Muthini's Nyanya takes him to a new home, where he is accepted on condition that he change his name from Muthini (which means
suffering
) to Baraka (a
blessing
).
M
y Name is Blessing
is intended for children aged six to nine. When you read it with them, don't miss the author's summary of
Baraka's World
at the back of the book. Use this volume to encourage kids to see past their own and others' surface limitations and to raise their awareness of life in other parts of the world.
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