Description
Lacey and the African Grandmothers is one of the titles in the Kids Power Series from Second Story Press. The author Sue Farrell Holler has adapted a true event into a fictionalized chapter book format. The story shows how one individual twelve-year-old Blackfoot girl can make a difference in the lives of African grandmothers who are caring for their orphaned grandchildren. Lacey tells the story from her perspective as a girl living on a First Nation reserve outside of Calgary where she is bussed to an off-reserve school. She talks about her siblings, parents and her grandmother as well as her feelings, interests and concerns. When she hears about the Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign that raises funds by selling purses and sending the money raised by grandmothers in Canada to grandmothers coping with AIDS devastated family members in Africa, she immediately believes that she too can help others. Faced with family issues and her own challenges and setbacks, Lacey makes things happen by organizing other youth and her extended family into creating purses for sale. Using her grandmother's old sewing machine the girl works hard to make enough items for sale. She is rewarded when two African grandmothers visit her community to acknowledge the effort this individual has made. Throughout the book the author weaves information about extended family, the role of Elders, and the importance of patience throughout the story. The publishers have used larger size font and wide margins in the 165-page book making it accessible to senior elementary students. The book includes a preface, an author's note, a glossary, and several black and white photographs.