You're Amazing, Anna Hibiscus!

by Atinuke, Lauren Tobia (Illustrator)

Overview

The final title in the critically acclaimed series about Anna Hibiscus, who lives in Africa with her large extended family, by an internationally renowned Nigerian storyteller

In the eighth title of the series about the universally loved Anna Hibiscus, Anna is worried. Her twin brothers have boundless energy. They won’t stop climbing and they can’t keep out of trouble! Meanwhile Grandfather is tired and can’t stay awake. In the final book of this wonderfully charming illustrated series, Anna Hibiscus proves just how amazing she is.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781536238143
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	04/29/2025
Series:	Anna Hibiscus Series , #8
Pages:	96
Sales rank:	702,032
Product dimensions:	5.06(w) x 7.81(h) x (d)
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

Atinuke was born in Nigeria and spent her childhood in both Africa and the United Kingdom. She is the author of the award-winning Anna Hibiscus series, illustrated by Lauren Tobia; Hugo, illustrated by Birgitta Sif; and the Too Small Tola series, illustrated by Onyinye Iwu. Her other books include Baby, Sleepy Baby; Baby Goes to Market; B Is for Baby; Catch That Chicken!; and L Is for Love, all illustrated by Angela Brooksbank. Atinuke lives in Wales.

Lauren Tobia is the author-illustrator of Oscar’s Tower of Flowers and the illustrator of numerous children’s books, including the Anna Hibiscus series by Atinuke, Happy in Our Skin by Fran Manushkin, Lion Lullaby by Kate Banks, and The Blanket Where Violet Sits by Allan Wolf. She lives in the United Kingdom.

Read an Excerpt

Double Trouble
 
Anna Hibiscus lives in Africa. Amazing Africa. She lives with her mother and her father; her grandmother and her grandfather; her aunties and her uncles; her cousins and her brothers; and her best friend, Sunny Belafonte. They all live together in a big white house in a country called Nigeria, in a city called Lagos.
   Anna Hibiscus’s brothers are small. Anna Hibiscus’s brothers are twins. This means trouble—double trouble!
   Double and Trouble walk into trouble. Double and Trouble run into trouble. But most of all, Double and Trouble climb into trouble. Double Trouble!
   Double Trouble think trouble is funny. When they get into trouble, they laugh. Then they point at each other.
   “It was him! He did it!” They both laugh.
   But sometimes somebody else gets the blame!
   One day, Double Trouble climbed to the top of the high cupboard where Uncle Tunde kept his camera. Double Trouble loved cameras!
   They loved to press all the buttons and see the lights on the screen flash! They loved to take photographs too!
   “Stop!” said Anna Hibiscus when she came into the room.
   Anna Hibiscus carefully put the camera back. She hoped Double Trouble hadn’t deleted any of Uncle Tunde’s important photographs.
   That weekend, Uncle Tunde’s friends came to visit. Uncle Tunde got his camera down and pressed slideshow. He wanted his friends to see all the photographs of his engineering project.
But all Uncle Tunde’s friends saw were Double Trouble’s funny faces and Double Trouble’s fat bom-boms! They laughed and laughed.
   But Uncle Tunde was cross. He was cross with Double Trouble.
   “It was him! He did it!” Double pointed at Trouble.
   “It was him! He did it!” Trouble pointed at Double.
   “It was both of you!” said Anna Hibiscus. “I saw you!”
   Now Uncle Tunde was cross with Anna Hibiscus. “You should have stopped them!” he said.
   “I tried!” said Anna Hibiscus.
   But Uncle Tunde was still cross.
   The next day, Double Trouble climbed onto the table. They found Joy’s schoolbag. Inside they found face paints! Double Trouble loved face paints. And Joy had the very best kind!
   When Anna Hibiscus saw Double Trouble’s faces, she laughed. Then she asked, “Where did you get those fine-fine face paints?”
   Anna Hibiscus wanted face paints too, but Double Trouble wouldn’t answer.
   “Double Trouble have face paints!” Anna Hibiscus shouted.
   All the aunties came running.
   “That looks like lipstick!” said Auntie Joly.
   “And eyeshadow!” said Auntie Grace.
   “Where did you get them?” asked Anna’s mother.
   Double Trouble pointed to Joy’s bag. Then they pointed at each other.
   “It was him! He did it!” Double laughed.
   “It was him! He did it!” Trouble laughed louder.
   But the aunties were not looking at Double Trouble. They were looking at Joy. Girl cousins were not allowed to have makeup.
   Now it was Joy who was in trouble! Auntie Joly took away the lipstick and the eyeshadow. Joy cried. “Why did you have to call everybody!” she shouted at Anna Hibiscus. “Now I have lost my makeup!”
   Poor Anna Hibiscus. She was in trouble again!
   Every-every day, Double Trouble caused trouble for Anna Hibiscus!
   They pulled down the shower curtain when Anna’s mother was in the shower.
   “Why didn’t you stop them, Anna?” shouted Anna’s mother.
   They climbed into the fridge and spilled the stew.
   “I told you to keep them out of the kitchen, Anna!” shouted Uncle Bizi Sunday.
   They climbed onto the cousins’ beds and pulled their posters off the wall.
   “It’s your fault, Anna!” cried Chocolate and Angel. “They’re your brothers!”
   Now Anna Hibiscus was so cross that she shouted at Double Trouble. “You’re always getting me into trouble! It’s not fair! I wish you weren’t my brothers!”
   Double and Trouble were sad. They didn’t care if other people were upset with them, but they didn’t want Anna Hibiscus to be upset. Anna was their sister. And they loved her.
   Anna Hibiscus loved Double Trouble too. When she saw their sad faces, she was sorry for what she said!
   Double Trouble looked at Anna Hibiscus. Anna Hibiscus looked at Double Trouble. They were all sad, and they did not know what to do to make it better.

Editorial Reviews

★ 2017-07-02
The importance of family during difficult times permeates the final book in the Anna Hibiscus series. In the gentle, frank tone readers have come to expect, gifted storyteller Atinuke balances compassion and humor while tackling a sensitive subject, the death of Anna's beloved grandfather. The first chapter sets the scene. Anna is back at home in the mixed-race family's city compound with Anna's twin little brothers, Double and Trouble, getting in all sorts of mischief—deleting pictures on Uncle Tunde's cellphone but saving the day by climbing in a window when the doors are accidentally locked. Meanwhile, Grandfather is growing more and more tired. Family members take turns sitting with him, but Anna refuses, hoping that if she doesn't think about "the really bad thing" it will not happen. "Then one day Grandfather did not wake up anymore." Anna is grief-stricken. In the final two chapters Anna, tenderly supported by her loving extended family, all also grieving, each in their own way, learns to listen for Grandfather's voice in her heart. The book ends with near-perfect modeling of shared grief and healing, as everyone tells their favorite grandfather story. Readers' understanding of Anna's genuine grief is amplified by Tobia's grayscale sketches. Be prepared. Readers say farewell to Anna Hibiscus as tears "drop off the corners of her smile." (Fiction. 5-9)

Kirkus Reviews