My Day With the Panye
Author: Tami Charles
For Infants/KS1
Price 7.99 paperback
Book(s) at £ 7.99 paperback
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My Day With the Panye Set in Haiti, this picture book pays tribute to a young girl's determination to learn the cultural tradition of carrying a basket - a panye - on her head, like her mother. Fallon sees this skill as a mark of being grown up and asks to be allowed to carry the panye on their trip to the market in Port au Prince. First attempts don't end well and she is consoled when her mother explains that not everything can be learned fast. Market day is full of sights of women, and some girls proudly carrying their shopping in baskets on their heads. The colourful artwork evokes the beauty of the island and features words from Haitian French in signage on buildings typical of this Caribbean island and the sprinkling of words in the text such as mouchwa or tap tap bus are readily understood from the context. An author's note gives some factual information about the tradition of the panye as well as an outline of Haitian history.

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