About This Book
This Newbery Honor book gently explores a young Navajo girl's struggle to accept the inevitability of her beloved grandmother's death. Annie, convinced her grandmother will die when a special rug is completed, goes to great lengths to delay its finishing. Through her grandmother's wisdom, Annie learns that death is a natural and peaceful part of life's cycle, offering comfort and understanding to young readers facing similar fears or losses. It's a poignant story about family bonds, cultural traditions, and processing grief.
A Navajo girl unravels a day's weaving on a rug whose completion, she believes, will mean the death of her grandmother.
Character Death
sad_scenes
Discussion Prompts
1
How does Annie feel when she first hears her grandmother will die? What does she do to try and stop it?
2
What does Annie's grandmother mean when she says 'You cannot stop the sun from setting'? How does this help Annie?
3
What are some things that change in nature, like the seasons? How is that like people growing older?
4
What do you love most about your grandparents or an older family member?
5
How do you think Annie feels at the end of the story? What has she learned?
External Reviews
Awards
1 award
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