The Village of Round and Square Houses

We enjoyed the story within the story of this book. It tells why some huts are round and some are square to this day in a small African village. This story is of men's & women's strengths & differences, the celebration of family and of the tradition of storytelling. The artwork adds to the quality of this book.

The Village of Round and Square Houses, is a story told byalittle girl, Osa, about how the people in her Central African villageof Tos ended up having the men live in square houses and the women in round ones. Osa's story begins with vivid descriptions and pictures of day to day life including their eating rituals in which the men come to eat with the women and children in the round house. Grifalconi uses bright, beautiful colors and illustrations, which help set the happy and peaceful mood. As Osa's grandmother tells her the story of how the great Naka Mountain burst open sending lava, ashes and smoke everywhere, Grifalconi does a good job of depicting the eruption. She contrasts the color orange on black and later shows the village and people all covered with ashes, with only two houses left standing. Since Naka had spared them and these two houses, the men and women split up and have been living this way ever since. The language and descriptions that she uses to tell the story are unique and informative; she keeps the reader wanting to know more. Grifalconi also does a good job of portraying the culture and tradition in the small village. In a note to the reader at the beginning of the book, she states that this village of Tos really does exist but that it is almost entirely isolated which makes its culture unique with different traditions from other African villages. The story, The Village of the Round and Square Houses, tells of the importance of family and the respect given to the elders. For the eldest in this family has the wooden stool to sit on and the next eldest has the grass mat. The children help the women cook, and everyone eats supper taking turns in order, starting with the eldest right down to the youngest child. Osa's grandmother tells the story of how their village ended up the way it is now. All members of the village respect her grandmother, and she is known as the best storyteller in the village. By telling stories she is able to pass on the culture of their village. In their 1988 Children's Literature Association Quarterly article, "Sharon Bell Mathis: Features of a Culture," Darwin L. Henderson and Arlene Harris Mitchell examine Mathis's work. Sharon Bell Mathis's works and Grifalconi's, The Village of Round and Square Houses, are similar because they both deal with celebrating life, children, family, survival, spiritual strength and culture. The oral tradition of story-telling is important to Mathis, and Grifalconi has the grandmother orally pass on the story of Naka. For me, this story by the grandmother is one of the most important things in the book because it gives the reason for having the women live in round houses and the men live in square ones, and it gives insight into part of their culture. This shows that oral tradition and culture are important aspects to both authors when writing children's books. I found this book stimulating to look at and interesting to read. The illustrations are great and add a lot

This is a wonderful book to share with children. Children need to know that different cultures do things differently. Culture is a big part of people and how they live their lives. This book was awarded a Caldecott Honor in 1987 for the wonderful pastel pictures. I, myself, loved this book and so did my children in the classroom.