LEE & LOW BOOKS celebrates its 25th anniversary this year and to recognize how far the company has come, we are featuring one title a week to see how it is being used in classrooms today as well, as hear from the authors and illustrators.
Featured title: Babu’s Song
Author: Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen
Illustrator: Aaron Boyd
Synopsis: Babu’s Song is the story of a young Tanzanian boy who learns a lesson about family love after selling the special music box his grandfather made for him. Set in contemporary Tanzania, this story is a tender testament to the love between grandchild and grandparent.
Awards and honors:
- Children’s Books of the Year, Bank Street College of Education
- “Choices,” Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC)
- 40 Books About Sports, Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC)
- Parents’ Choice Recommended, Parents’ Choice Foundation
- South Carolina Children’s Book Award Nominee, South Carolina Association of School Librarians
- Storytelling World Resource Award, Storytelling World magazine
- Children’s Africana Book Award, African Studies Association
- Pennsylvania Young Reader’s Choice Award Master List, Pennsylvania School Librarians Association
- West Virginia Children’s Book Award Master List, West Virginia Children’s Book Award Program
The story behind the story:
“To this day Babu’s Song is still one of my favorite books and though I’ll illustrated over 20 books since then, I still go back to it when I’m speaking with kids and other artists. Babu’s Song is such a beautiful story and it is still one of my most requested books when I talk to people.
Working on Babu’s Song continues to touch my life as an artist as much today as it did when I began illustrating it. Not only because it’s one of my most recognized and colorful books I’ve illustrated, but also because it helped set the trajectory of my artistic and social conscious. Growing up where books (and movies) too often didn’t contain subjects or people that I saw in my own life I knew that when I began illustrating books my priority would be to capture people and places that we don’t often see or know on a map.
In Babu’s Song I got to show a boy and his grandfather in Tanzania dealing with poverty and loss that while not uncommon in the world are often unseen by most of us, even when next door. And while this story does deal very honestly with the boy’s struggles, it always keeps its heart and shows us that there is a way to persevere. So a story about a little boy and his grandfather on the other side of the globe becomes someone we can begin to see (empathize with) thus bringing us all a little closer. “
–Aaron Boyd, illustrator of Babu’s Song and new title Calling the Water Drum
Resources for teaching with Babu’s Song:
- Check out the Teacher’s Guide from LEE & LOW BOOKS for interdisciplinary activities and learning
- Discover the Elizabeti series also set in Tanzania
- Explore illustrator Aaron Boyd’s newest work Calling the Water Drum
Book activity: Ask students to write a letter to their grandparent or grandparent-figure in their life. Review the structure and tone of a friendly letter. Students should describe what they admire about this person and include questions to learn more about them.
How have you used Babu’s Song? Let us know!
Celebrate with us! Check out our 25 Years Anniversary Collection.
