Annie and the Old One is a Newbery Honor award-winning book by Miska Miles. Annie is a young Native American girl who is very close to her grandmother. Sometimes, when they are laughing together, Annie’s grandmother seems quite young. Other times, when her grandmother is quiet and still, Annie realizes that her grandmother is very old.

One day, Annie’s grandmother announces that she will “go to Mother Earth” when Annie’s mother finishes work on a new rug. Annie is deeply saddened at the thought of her grandmother passing away, so she decides that she must stop the rug from being completed. She does everything she can to delay her mother’s work on the rug. She even attempts to unweave the rug when her mother is not looking. Annie’s grandmother takes her to a quiet place in the desert, so that she can teach Annie about the meaning of life. Annie learns an important lesson from her wise grandmother that she will never forget.

This book is quite short, but I found it to be very poignant and meaningful. I especially liked the relationship between Annie and her grandmother. Annie’s behavior after learning that her grandmother would die seems understandable. I think most children would react in such a way to the death of a loved one. It was very touching to see how much Annie did not want to lose her grandmother. I was also impressed by the way Annie learned to cope with her feelings, out of respect for her grandmother’s teachings. I believe that this is an excellent book for children or anyone else to read about dealing with family death and finding purpose in life.

Annie and the Old One by Miska Miles is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library.