Tag Archives: Afro The Girl with the Magical Hair

Children’s Day and Pint-sized Bookworms Reading Club

AGES 4 - 8, AGES 8 - 12, NEWS/EVENTS, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Dear Pint-sized Bookworms (and their mummies, daddies, aunties, uncles and teachers),

HAPPY CHILDREN’S DAY!!!!! (in arrears)

 I hope you had a swell day!!!!

 Here’s how we celebrated. PBW Reading Club had its first ever reading event at Learning Ladder Montessori School, Ajah, Lagos.We had loads of fun!

We read 3 books,

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IMG_6444did some exercises on the books, 

 

made DIY reading journals

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And lots more!!!

Stay tuned for more pictures!!

Do you want us to come to your school? Write us here: ugochinyelu.anidi@gmail.com The subject of your mail should read PBW Reading Club.

We look forward to hearing from you!

 

Happy Reading!!

Many thanks to our Sponsors and Volunteers 

CAIN PROJECTS, JulieCecil Photography, A.S Homes & Designs, PinPoint Creatives, Blunch Foods Nig. LTD, Dr. N (author of Adaeze, the True Princess); Tolu Banjo (keepingfaithwithtolu) 

 

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NEWS/EVENT THIS WEEK May 22-26th

NEWS/EVENTS, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Dear Pint-sized Bookworms (and their mummies, daddies, aunties, uncles and teachers),

It’s a new week and boy, do I have news for you!

  1. PBW Reading Club

Our first reading club event will take place on Children’s Day, May 27th 2016 and we’re raring to go! The new Pint-sized Bookworms will be reading three books: HANDA’S HEN by Eileen Browne (read review here); AFRO: THE GIRL WITH THE MAGICAL HAIR by Okechulwu Ofili (read review here) and HOW TO BUILD YOUR OWN COUNTRY by Valerie Wyatt (read review here) and two stories with lots of activities like word games, puzzles, and an arts and craft session. We will also have one author book reading by newbie author Nnenna Ochiche. She will read her new book, ADAEZE, THE TRUE PRINCESS (read review here).

 

  1. Connect Nigeria’s Writer’s Conference

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The annual conference for writers, ‘The Business of Writing’ organized by ConnectNigeria held two days ago at the Sleek Center, in Victoria Island, Lagos. It featured speakers like Okechuchukwu Ofili of Afro: The Girl with the Magical Hair, Eghosa Imasuen of Fine Boys, Efe Paul Azino, poet par excellence, Adebola Rayo of Artyliving and Director and screenwriter Ike Nnaebue. Yours truly attended with the latest Pint-sized Bookworm. More information on the conference can be found here.

  1. Movies  

a. Through the Looking Glass

The movie, Through the Looking Glass, sequel to Alice in Wonderland, will premier in the US on May 27th! Yes! Children’s Day! Produced by Walt Disney Pictures, it features actors like Anna Hathaway (Princess Diaries), Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. The movies are based on the books of the same title by Lewis Carroll. Be sure to read the two books before going to see the movie!

b. The BFG Movie

Fans of Roald Dahl and the BFG (read review here) will be glad to know that the BFG is about to hit the big screen. Premiering this July in the US, this sure to be blockbuster was directed by Stephen Spielberg and produced by Dreamworks!!! Can you imagine?! Definitely a feast for the senses!

You can find last week’s news here

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Happy Reading !!

Afro: The Girl with the Magical Hair

AGES 4 - 8, BOOK REVIEW, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , ,

Afro---The-Girl-with-the-Magical-Hair-3677542_1

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

  1. 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.    
  2. Afro’s full name?
  3. Why did people travel from all over Yackiland to see Afro? To see her magical hair and experience its healing power.
  4. What was the secret to Afro’s hair? A mixture of natural oils and raw eggs.
  5. What weird ingredients went into the evil queen’s relaxer? Acid, baby tears, bleach, lizard tails, rotten eggs and snake eyes.
  6. 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)

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

OR

  1. 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 9th 2015

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?

 

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photo credit: amazon.com

 

 

 

 

New Release

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The last quarter of this year has brought with it some really good books written by indigenous authors: veteran fantasy writer, Nnedi Okoroafor; cheeky Okechukwu Ofili of Ofilispeaks.com and okadabooks.com, and newbie Nnamdi Anyadu. Chicken in the Kitchen by Nnedi Okoroafor will be one of the picture books reviewed this month in honour of the ‘November is Picture Book Month’ initiative. I have just acquired Chicken in the Kitchen and I eagerly await my copy of Afro: The Girl with the Magical Hair by Okechukwu Ofili. Anyadu’s The Forgotten Fables is yet to hit bookstores. Expect reviews of the first two books before the end of the month. Until then, brief information on the books is provided below.

Chicken-in-the-Kitchen-Cover-Image-300x300Title: CHICKEN IN THE KITCHEN 

Author: Nnedi Okoroafor

Publisher: Lantana Publishing

Release Date: October, 2015

Summary by Publisher

What would you do if you woke up one night to find the shadow of a giant chicken passing your bedroom door? Go and investigate of course! When Anyaugo follows a giant chicken into her kitchen one warm night in Nigeria, she embarks on a hilarious adventure where nothing is quite as it seems. Is the nature spirit that lives in the wooden walls of her house a help or a hindrance? Is the mischievous giant chicken a friend or a foe? Most importantly, will Anyaugo be able to save the food her aunties have cooked for the New Yam Festival the next day? World Fantasy Award-winning author Nnedi Okoroafor provides us with a hugely entertaining look at the fascinating masquerade culture of West Africa, told from the perspective of a plucky young Nigerian girl who finds the courage to protect the traditions she loves.

Afro---The-Girl-with-the-Magical-Hair-3677542_1Title: AFRO: THE GIRL WITH THE MAGICAL HAIR 

Author: Okechukwu Ofili

Publisher: Farafina Tuuti

Release Date: 2015

Summary by Publisher 

When the people of Yackiland run out of Kanek weaves, the kingdom is thrown into chaos. Ruled by an evil, straight hair-obsessed queen for so many years, the people of Yackiland have forgotten how to grow their own hair. It is up to Afro, the girl with magical hair, to save the kingdom. But the queen has plans of her own…

Coming Soon … 

12122434_10153023574180448_323645080768838097_nTitle: THE FORGOTTEN FABLES

Author: Nnamdi Anyadu

Publisher: Jungle Urchin

Release Date: Coming Soon

New book by new author Nnamdi Anyadu and a new publishing house for children’s books, Jungle Urchin.

Sign up for alerts to know when this book becomes available.

TNT,

Ugo :–)