My Little Round House ~ Picture Book & KID KANDY

My Little Round House
by Bolormaa Baasansuren
adapted by Helen Mixter
(Groundwood Books, House of Anansi Press, 2006/2009)

My Little Round House is the story of a young boy who was born in Mongolia. Jilu lived in a nomadic community that traveled to new places in the different seasons.

Little Jilu remembers his first round house - his mothers' stomach. After he was convinced to come out by his father, Jilu begins to appreciate the round house of his family, or ger, with its round circle of sky blue in the roof. The story of Jilu and his round ger is enchanting as it weaves the seasons of life in pictures and words. Baby lambs lived in the ger to be fed by Jilu and his grandmother. Spring brought dumplings and fermented milk for meals and warmth after winter snows.

Reading My Little Round House made me want to live in a ger!

Summer, autumn, winter, spring, and summer again bring Jilu to his birthday. Jilu plays with animals and friends, running free in the summer green grass. Jilu loves the blue sky overhead, which reminds him of the sky blue circle in the roof of his ger, his home.

My Little Round House shows a different life than the one we are accustomed to in America. Readers will be enthralled to see how a small boy in a different country lives his life in a ger.

KID KANDY:

Make a Round Home

Materials: sticks, rocks, fabric scraps, string, tape, toy people figures

Look at the pictures of the ger to see how it is shaped and formed. Use the sticks to make a round structure, anchoring the sticks in the dirt to make them stable. Rocks, tape, and string can help hold your ger together. Cover the ger with fabric pieces. Let your toy people figures live in the ger. Add toy animals and other natural materials to your community.

Did you make a circle in the ger rooftop? Is there a door? What do you like about a round ger? Would you like to live there? Why?

***I have the hardest time trying to get good pictures of the library books that are covered in plastic! I apologize for the quality of photos, but I do want you to be able to see the cover.