Title: No School for Eze
Author: Ifeoma Okoye
Publisher: Farafina Tuuti
Number of pages: 16
Type of Book: Fiction; African
Age: 2 – 6
Available here: https://www.mobiashara.com/Farafina/no-school-eze
Price: N300
MY SUMMARY
What would you say to your (hale and hearty) child if he woke up one day and began to cry, “Mummy, I don’t want to go to school today, let me stay at home with you.”
Most mums would give the child a good talking-to, some would ignore him, and others would laugh. My mum would give you a stern look and you’d rid yourself of the idea as quickly as you got it. I would probably do the same to my child and kiss my teeth in a very long and drawn out manner for good measure.
Not Eze’s mother. In this book, she let him stay at home with her. I was gobsmacked. My first thought was, ‘What kind of mother is this?’ but a few pages into the book, I was laughing my head off.
After spending the day with his mum, Eze realized he’d rather go to school than stay at home. In fact, on the last page, he shouted, “I hate staying at home, I like school better.”
Read the book to find out how Eze’s mother (in the funniest and most positive way) cured Eze of his dislike for school and his love for staying at home!
THUMBS UP AND DOWN
UP: This book is the second book in the ‘Eze’ series. The Eze series feature the little boy Eze, who rarely ever wants to do what is expected of him or what his parents want. He is the run-of-the-mill troublesome child with aesthetic rather than functional ears. Buy the series to learn how his parents manage him.
The Eze series teach important lessons in discipline without being didactic.
This book is perfect for the little boy or girl who is just becoming an independent reader. It is also a good read aloud for toddlers.
DOWN: Critics have complained that Eze’s mum is not exactly role-model material, as she seems to do only household chores all day and expressly states that she wishes she could leave the chores and go to school.
RATING
4 Stars
TRIVIA
- Ask your child to count the number of chores Eze did in the book.
HAVE FUN WITH THIS BOOK
- Team the reading experience with a chore-trial fete. Introduce your child to as many household chores as possible: washing plates, doing the laundry, cooking, sweeping and dusting, clearing the table, tidying his room, bed-making, etc., and help him decide which ones he can do everyday.
CHALLENGE: No School for Eze
CREATE (WRITE AND/OR DRAW)
- List five household chores that you can do. Make a collage of pictures of these chores.
Send your answers to ugochinyelu.anidi@gmail.com
Entry requirements: Entrants must be within the 4 – 6 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 23rd2015.
Next Book of the Week:
CLEVER SQUIRREL AND THE WEDDING COMPETITION by Yusuf .M. Adamu
photo credit: spineandlabel.com
U G O . . . .A N I D I 
Personally, I like the role the mother played, giving her child the opportunity to live out their own mistakes. It was nice to see the characters having a family meal. The illustrations spoke cultural volumes (the father’s forefinger pointing towards the mother as he told his son off reminded me of the saying ‘a good child belongs to the father and a bad one the mother’) I hope this edition has been edited. But yes, I like this author’s work!
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That was such an interesting observation. The father’s finger pointing towards the mother. I agree with you, the mother’s idea was stellar. And yes, Ifeoma Okoye wrote some really good books!! By the way, I am a huge fan of your book *A Fun ABC* 🙂
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