Lula Got a New Krar - Ethiopian Children Book Review

Ethiopian Children Book Review

We understand theres is a lack of diverse books available to share with our kids especially reflecting their unique culture and narrative. We hope our review section of books and other culturally appropriate products will help introduce you to books, toys and resources. 

Publisher: Kiazpora 
Language: English
Story/Content: Ethiopian Eritrean girl Lula and her new Krar given to her by her father
Topics: Musical instrument, family, father daughter relationship, learning to play instrument


Ethiopian children book review Lula got a new Krar. A book about an Ethiopian Eritrean girl and her new musical instrument the Krar. Ethiopian Guitar.


My daughter loves her miniature Krar we got for her a while back, they're actually meant for decorative purposes, but never the less she 'plays' it and her Krar an appearance in most of her rockstar performances. So when Lula Got a New Krar was recommended to me on Amazon I was delighted. A book about and Ethiopian Eritrean girl and her new Krar, sounded amazing! The cover design and illustration style is what really sold me. Lula is wearing our traditional Habesha Kemis and had Shuruba (cornrows). At first glance of the book, my daughter immidiatley connected to all these details on the cover. She said "mom she's wearing habesha kemis like me and she has a krar'. She was so excited to open it and diver right in (which is what you want from a book). Seeing her reaction to the book I am reminded how important it is to have books for our kids that speak to who they are next to imagery that reflects themselves and their communities. 

The story is of a girl called Lula who has always been fascinated by the music in her community and was overjoyed when her father gave her a Krar. She was so obsessed with it she didn't let it out of her sight. The book then goes on to introduce us to a few other instruments and the family members who play them. The illustration in the book is lovely and does a good job of supporting the story and illuminating the setting. 

While I loved everything about this book and its premise, I was disappointed that the cultures where these instruments are used are not mentioned. Not even at a country level, which was very disappointing. Even my 6 yearly daughter picked up on it and asked why the book doesn't say Ethiopia (I imagine an Eritrean little girl asking the same thing about Eritrea). Its confusing and uninformative to have a cultural book about instruments that is culturally ambiguous. I appreciate we as a community are just approaching this type of publishing and hope we find a way of pleasing everyone while staying true to the goal of educational accuracy. 


From the authors: "This colorful and exciting picture book uses a story-based approach to introduce children about traditional musical instruments. The short story is about a girl named Lula who learns to play one of the musical instrument called the krar. This illustrated book is aimed at young children and young readers because it uses both text and illustrations to present the story. It uses simple sentence structures with fewer than 500 words and illustrations for children to enjoy reading. The story is designed to explore many commonly used artifacts and cultural icons from East Africa (Ethiopia and Eritrea)."

Interesting fact is that the Krar (Ethiopia / Eritrea), the Guitar and the Sitar (India) are all stringed instruments that belong to the plucked string instruments family. 

I hope you give this book a chance. Just the idea of surrounding ourselves with books that reflect our children's image is worth the investment. 

Happy reading! 


Comments

  1. So happy to have discovered your blog. I was not familiar with this Lula series and thanks to you I have purchased a few of them. I love the cover and can't wait to share it with my daughter. Thank you so much! Hanna

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  2. Thanks for commenting and sharing your thoughts. So glad you were introduced to this series. The publisher has some great books on learning various East African languages as well. let us know what your daughter thinks of the book.

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