ACCESS DIGITIZED EDITION
Guide/Reviews Database
PICTURE BOOKS
Brantley-Newton, Vanessa

Nesting Dolls

40 pp. | Crown | October, 2023 | Trade ISBN 9781984852373 $18.99 | Library ISBN 9781984852380 $21.99 | Ebook ISBN 9781984852397 $10.99
(1) K-3 Brantley-Newton highlights the bonds, both visible and invisible, that connect family members. Anyiaka's older sister, Sorie, has light brown skin like their mom's and grandma's. Anyiaka's darker skin causes her to wonder about her place in the family. "Everyone in my family is so beautiful and so smart. And then there's me." With the help of family portraits (mostly illustrated with a couple of interspersed photographs) and a set of nesting dolls representing the women in their family, Grandma shows Anyiaka­ that her mahogany skin and thick hair come from her great-grandmother: "Our family has been workin' to make oonuh for years and years." In addition to Grandma's dialect, digital drawings provide more context to the story, set among the Gullah Geechee of South Carolina's Sea Islands. The bold-hued images depict a loving intergenerational family with deep roots. An author's note discusses Brantley-Newton's own Gullah Geechee roots and the group's long history­ on the Sea Islands.
Reviewer: Nicholl Denice Montgomery | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2023

RELATED 

PICTURE BOOKS

Born Ready
by Patterson, Jodie
PICTURE BOOKS

The House of Grass and Sky
by Ray, Mary Lyn
PICTURE BOOKS

The Dog's Gardener
by Storms, Patricia
PICTURE BOOKS

And I Paint It
by Kephart, Beth
PICTURE BOOKS

Poem in My Pocket
by Tougas, Chris
More

Get connected. Join our global community of more than 200,000 librarians and educators.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing.

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?