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Children's Fiction General

From Anna

by (author) Jean Little

preface by Katherine Paterson

illustrated by Joan Sandin

Publisher
Scholastic Canada Ltd, Independent Publishers Group
Initial publish date
Sep 2012
Category
General, Special Needs
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781443119740
    Publish Date
    Sep 2012
    List Price
    $8.99

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Where to buy it

Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels

  • Age: 8 to 12
  • Grade: 3 to 7

Description

Jean Little's classic celebrates its 40th anniversary with a new look for a new generation!

Nine-year-old Anna has always been the clumsy one in the family - somehow she can never do anything right. She bumps into tables, and she can't read the chalkboard at school. Her perfect brothers and sisters call her "Awkward Anna."

When Papa announces that the family is moving from Germany to Canada - he's worried about what the Nazis' rise to power will bring - Anna's heart sinks. How can she learn English when she can't even read German properly?

But when the Soldens arrive in Canada, Anna learns that there is a reason for her clumsiness. And suddenly, wonderfully, her whole world begins to change, especially when new friends at her special school help her stand up to bullies who call her names.

A truly heartwarming story, From Anna will resonate with any child who has ever felt left out. This 40th anniversary edition includes an Introduction by Katherine Paterson and and Afterword by Jean Little herself.

About the authors

Jean Little was born in Taiwan in 1932. Her parents were both doctors. Jean grew up in Ontario and graduated from the University of Toronto. She was born with a severe eye problem and is severely visually impaired. A special "talking" computer assists her with her writing. She has a retired seeing-eye dog named Ritz and a new one named Pippa, with whom she travels. The author focuses on her experiences from the time she was a child through young adulthood in her autobiography, Little by Little, and continues her story in Stars Come Out Within. The books, which will appeal to children 10 and older, are both humorous and poignant as Jean describes living with a disability and the ridicule she sometimes experienced as a result, as well as her love for the world of reading and books. Jean's books include From Anna, Listen for the Singing, Stand In The Wind, Mama's Going To Buy You a Mockingbird, Hey World, Here I Am!, Look through My Window, Emma's Yucky Brother, The Belonging Place, and Mine For Keeps. Listen for the Singing was the Canada Council Children's Literature Award winner in 1977. Mama's Going to Buy You a Mockingbird was the CLA Book of the Year in 1985.
Jean Little's first book, Mine for Keeps, won the Little, Brown Children's Book Award in 1962 and was republished by Viking Penguin in 1995. It tells the story of Sally Copeland, a 10 year old with cerebral palsy, and her adjustment to being home after spending several years in a special school. You'll find that several of the themes in this book appear in a number of the author's other books: dealing with a handicap and the responses of others, fitting in, and adjusting to new situations and surroundings.
http://www.jeanlittle.com/

 

Jean Little's profile page

Katherine Paterson's profile page

JOAN SANDIN est née au Wisconsin, elle a grandi à Tucson, en Arizona, et elle a vécu 15 ans à Stockholm, en Suède. Elle a toujours aimé dessiner et elle a illustré son premier livre – une histoire écrite par son grand frère Tom – à l’âge de cinq ans. Joan a trois enfants et plus d’une dizaine de petits-enfants, et elle a publié plus de 100 livres en anglais et en suédois. Elle est de retour en Arizona, où elle continue d’illustrer, d’écrire et de traduire des livres pour enfants.

Joan Sandin's profile page

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