In a Ugandan village, Nassali fetches water, does the chores, and takes care of her sisters. What she'd like to be doing is going to school with her brother, Kojja. But since her mother's death from AIDS, it's Nassali's job to run the household. Still, she tries everything she can think of to learn, from teaching herself reading to following her brother to school hour's walk st to sit outside the classroom window. Nothing gets her closer to her goal, however, until Kojja gives her the gift of time: one morning a week, he does the chores so she can practice reading and writing. The final spread shows a triumphant moment: a now-grown Nassali receiving a college acceptance letter. The gauzy artwork, reminiscent of the work of Floyd Cooper, captures busy village life, but, more often, the solitary moments, where Nassali can do no more than hug a book to her, hoping to somehow bring its knowledge inside her. The final informative spread, with photos, explains what life is like for Ugandan children trying to get an education.

Gr 1-2 Nassali is growing up in Uganda. Her mother has died, and, as is customary in her culture, when a mother dies, the work of running the household, feeding the hungry mouths, and caring for the younger siblings falls to the eldest girl. Yet Nassali wants so much more than that for herself. Her brother, Matovu, attends school, and Nassali is heartbroken that she can't. When she rises one day and finds that all of her chores are completed, she is able to spend time practicing printing squiggles in the dirt that she has seen in books. Who gave her this gift day, she wonders? Matovu has seen her burning desire to learn and begins to help with the chores and tutors her as well, and it isn't long before Nassali is able to read something to her proud family. The monochromatic palette is dark throughout the book with no relief when things begin to look up for Nassali. Back matter describes the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which often are inaccessible in countries such as Uganda. A final page provides a much-needed glossary. For example, there is mention that Nassali's mother died of "slim," which is defined as HIV/AIDS. Pair this book with Elizabeth Fitzgerald Howard's Virgie Goes to School with Us Boys (S &; S, 2000) to showcase the importance of school to another young girl. Joan Kindig, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA