Afro: The Girl with the Magical Hair

Title: Afro: The Girl with the Magical Hair

Author: Okechukwu Ofili

Publisher: Farafina Tuuti

Number of pages: 60

Type of Book: Fiction; African

Age: 5 – 8

Available here: https://www.konga.com/afro-the-girl-with-the-magical-hair-2087783

Price: N1000

MY SUMMARY

Imagine a kingdom filled with girls and women with pin-straight weaves: Yackiland. Imagine a girl in this kingdom with the biggest, fullest, curliest, afro; so huge that it could cause a hairclipse (yep! It could block out sunlight): Afro. Afro was bullied and or ignored by the female folk in Yackiland because she was different. Her hair wasn’t pin-straight like the Kanek weave, it grew upwards instead of downward and it was too thick! So she kept to herself, playing with her hair and reading books. Then one day, everything changed. The people of Kanek ran out of hair to sell to the Yackilanders. All of a sudden, people liked Afro and her hair, especially when they discovered that her hair was magical: it had healing powers.

But the evil queen wasn’t happy with the turn of events. She kidnapped Afro and hid her in a hole in the ground, determined to keep Afro’s magical hair and its healing powers to herself.

Then Prince came along …

Read this book to find out how Afro, Prince and all the Yackilanders escaped the clutches of the evil queen … if they did *smiles

THUMBS UP AND DOWN

UP: This is definitely the best AND the quirkiest adaptation of the fairytale ‘Rapunzel’ that I have ever read. It satisfies all the basic requirements for a classic fairytale: good guys, bad guys, magic, bad guys are justly rewarded and the good guys live happily ever after (except when Prince snored and Afro “accidentally” shocked him awake!)

I loved the illustrations too! Especially the one on page 51! (Now you have to buy the book to find out!)

Other highlights were Afro’s full name: OhMyGoodnessDidYouSeeThatGirlsAfro, then the hurray for Afro hair and the display of Ankara.

I recommend this book for kids who have read the fairytale ‘Rapunzel’, (they would appreciate the twists) and those who haven’t because it’s a great story nonetheless.

DOWN: None

RATING

4 Stars

TRIVIA

How long was the evil queen’s hair? It was so long that it took a full minute for the hair to trail into a room behind her.
Afro’s full name?
Why did people travel from all over Yackiland to see Afro? To see her magical hair and experience its healing power.
What was the secret to Afro’s hair? A mixture of natural oils and raw eggs.
What weird ingredients went into the evil queen’s relaxer? Acid, baby tears, bleach, lizard tails, rotten eggs and snake eyes.
How did Prince find Afro? He heard singing then rapping coming from the ground in the forest!

Bonus: One more thing about Afro’s hair: It had static electricity, it could shock people!

Read an excerpt here: http://ofilispeaks.com/afrobook/

CHALLENGE: Afro: The Girl with the Magical Hair

CREATE (WRITE OR DRAW)

Write a 500-word adaptation of a well-known fairy tale.

Draw (and name) 2 similarities and 2 differences between Afro’s story and Rapunzel’s story.

Send your answers to ugochinyelu.anidi@gmail.com

Entry requirements: Entrants must be within the 5 – 8 age range. The first correct entry will be announced on this page and will win a copy of this book.

Answers must be submitted before 12:00am on Wednesday, December 9^th2015

Next Book of the Week:

MAYOWA AND THE MASQUERADES by Lola Shoneyin

NB (just for the mummies): Did you notice the ‘Kili Kili Star’ dress on the cover?