Tag Archives: anike eleko

30 Tips for Writing Delightful Children’s Books Day 3

ARTICLES, LITERARY RAMBLES, Writing Picture Books Course, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

WRITING CHILDREN’S BOOKS TIP #3: KNOW YOUR ONIONS, well, GENRES

Let’s talk about genres. Children’s books have been divided into so many genres and categories that it is so hard to keep up. But here are the major ones.

NB: This post features children’s books by Nigerian authors.

GENRES*

Picture Books

Heavily illustrated; ages 3 – 8; 100 – 1000 words

Greatest Animal in the Jungle by Sope Martins

Juba and the Fireball by Yejide Kilanko

Mayowa and the Masquerades by Lola Shoneyin

Early Chapter Books

Illustrated; ages 4/5 – 8; 1000 – 3000 words

Welcome Home, Anna Hibiscus by Atinuke

Feyi Fay and the Mysterious Madam Koi Koi by Simisayo Brownstone

Chapter books

Few Illustrations; ages 6 – 9; 5000 – 20,000 words

Mafoya and the Finish Line by Ayo Oyeku

No 1 Car Spotter by Atinuke

Middle Grade:

Rarely illustrated; ages 8 – 12; 25,000 – 50,000

A-Files by Victoria Afe Inegbedion

Akata Witch/What Sunny Saw in the Flames by Nnedi Okoroafor

Mirror on the Wall by Jesutofunmi Fekoya

Young Adult

Almost never illustrated; ages 13+ ; 40,000 – 100,000 words

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

Beasts Made of Night by Tochi Onyebuchi

Other genres:

Concept Books

Diary of a Toddler by Olubunmi Aboderin Talabi

A Fun ABC by Sade Fadipe

Plays

Mouth Almighty by Salihah Agbaje

Graphic Novels

Anike Eleko by Sandra Joubeaud and Alaba Onajin

Comics

1897: Okiojo’s Chronicles Series

Nonfiction*

My Nigeria, Peoples, Places and Culture by Constance Omawumi Kola-Lawal

Social Justice Books

Eno’s Story by Ayodele Olofintuade

The Red Transistor Radio by Fatima Akilu

OTHER CATEGORIES

Action/Adventure

Ginika’s Adventures by Nnenna Ochiche

The Adventures of Obi and Titi: Queen Idia’s Mask

Series

Illesanmi Twins Series. Book #1 Mystery at Ebenezer Lodge by Dunni Olatunde

Half Hour Hara Series. Book #1 The Case of the Broken Eggs by Ugo Anidi

Science Fiction

Zahra the Windseeker by Nnedi Okoroafor

Folktales/Fairytales

Folktales are Forever by Efe Farinre

Biographies

Idia of the Benin kingdom by Ekiuwa Aire

Please note: This list is by no means exhaustive!

  1. Action: Get a library subscription

Try Bookworm Café. This outfit specializes only in children’s books and its Director is a children’s literature connoisseur.

Try ZODML, Zaccheus Onumba Dibiaezue Memorial Libraries too!

OR

Be like me, buy every single book on this list … AND MORE 😊

2. Read.

Read 2 to 3 books in each genre to determine which one appeals to you😊

Then when you find your niche, read as many books as possible in that genre. Good luck!

Get the next tip in your inbox. Click on the link below to subscribe to my newsletter!!

*post on nonfiction coming soon

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

ÀNÍKÉ ELÉKO

AGES 4 - 8, AGES 8 - 12, BOOK REVIEW, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

anike_eleko

Title:   Àníké Eléko 

Author: Sandra Joubeaud, Illustrated by Àlàbá Ònájìn

Publisher: Farafina Tuuti      

Year of Publication: 2017

Number of pages:  122        

Type of Book: Fiction; Graphic novel

Age: 8 and up

Available here: https://okadabooks.com/book/about/anike_eleko/17283 ; https://rhbooks.com.ng/product/anike-eleko/ ; Terrakulture Victoria Island, Lagos ;

https://www.jumia.com.ng/farafina-anike-eleko-8664178.html ;

https://www.konga.com/aonike-eleko-3751571

 Price: N1000; N1200; N1300; N1400; N1500

MY SUMMARY

Àníké wants to be a medical doctor but Iya and Aunt Remi have other plans for her, after all, in Aunt Remi’s words, “It is better for a woman to master a craft and find a good husband.”

So when Àníké decides to write the scholarship exam for a chance to pursue her dreams, she finds she has to study extra hard to get her Arithmetic right but Iya and Aunt Remi saddle her with making Aunt Remi’s wedding dress, as if selling ẹ̀kọ every morning before going to school and helping Iya at the market after school aren’t enough work already!

Read the book to find out how Àníké fared with ‘The Scholarship’.

THUMBS UP AND DOWN

UP: THE ILLUSTRATIONS were hands down the best part of the book for me. I loved them! Rich and colourful, they totally immerse the reader in Àníké’s world. They were so good that I felt like I could have ‘read’ the book just by looking at them. Ònájìn’s work really gives meaning to the line: ‘A picture is worth a thousand words’

Comics are NOT my thing, so this book was a pleasant surprise!

DOWN: Àníké was rude to her mother more than once. Hands-on-the-waist-talking-with-exclamation-marks rude! She also deceived her mother and aunt, all in a bid to study for the Scholarship exam. This behaviour went unpunished, making it look like the end always justifies the means.

One of my favorite characters didn’t make it to the cover: Àríyọ̀ the Cobbler.

RATING

4 stars

TRIVIA

Some conversation starters for your kids

  1. “It is better for a woman to master a craft and find a good husband”
  2. “School is more important for boys”
  3. Àníké had to wake really early in the morning to sell ẹ̀kọ before going to school but Banjo her brother didn’t. Is that fair?
  4. Other themes explored in the book besides Courage: Bullying, Friendship.

VISIT ÀNÍKÉ HERE : https://www.facebook.com/anikeeleko/

CHALLENGE: ÀNÍKÉ ELÉKO

CREATE (WRITE a Story/Poem OR DRAW)

  1. Oge wants to be a Movie star, Ìlérí wants to be a Policewoman, Àníké wants to be a Doctor

Write a 300-word essay on any of the following lines:

“What I want to be”

or

“School is more important for boys”

OR

  1. Recreate the picture below

13782014_1621283454868722_7652309809832249381_n

Send your answers to ugochinyelu.anidi@gmail.com

Entry requirements: Entrants must be within the 8-12 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 Saturday, April 14th 2018.

Next Book of the Week:

GUESS HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU by SAM MCBRATNEY

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

photo credit: kachifo.com and Àníké’s facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/anikeeleko/

 

Where The Wild Things Are

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

61ulN35aErL._SY452_BO1,204,203,200_

Title: Where The Wild Things Are

Author: Maurice Sendak

Publisher: Red Fox Books

Number of pages: 48

Type of Book: Fiction; Fantasy

Age: 4 – 8

Buy it here: (Instagram) @tams_ink; https://www.amazon.com/Where-Wild-Things-Maurice-Sendak/dp/0064431789/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1519811649&sr=1-1&keywords=where+the+wild+things+are

Price: N2650; $6.36

MY SUMMARY

“Wild thing!”, Max’s mother called him one night after he put on a wolf’s costume and a king’s crown and tried to wreak havoc at home with first, a hammer and then, a fork. Sent to his bedroom without dinner, he imagined himself in an exciting new place filled with wild things, with no mothers, no rules and lots of time to play. He was even crowned the King of the wild things! And all seemed well with the world until …

THUMBS UP AND DOWN

UP:

  1. It’s a classic, first published in 1963.
  2. Oh the places you’ll go … this time, not when you read but when you have an overactive imagination. This book celebrates one of the joys of most childhoods, an active imagination.
  3. Maurice uses vibrant illustrations to turn Max’s bedroom first into a forest and then a forest leading to an ocean and then a whole new world!

DOWN: Monsters! Monsters and more Monsters! Images of huge, yellow-eyed, horned creatures with long sharp teeth and longer sharper claws are splashed generously across the pages of this book. They are stuff childhood nightmares are made of. My almost 4-year-old sat quietly through the reading, no comments, no questions, just silence. We won’t be reading this again, at least not in the near future. Not recommended for night time reading.

RATING

4 Stars

HAVE FUN WITH THIS BOOK

  1. Watch a video here:

 CHALLENGE: Where the Wild Things Are

CREATE (WRITE a Story/Poem OR DRAW)

Watch the video above, then …

  1. List 3 characters in the book (3 – 5 year olds)
  2. List three characters in the book starting with the letter M. Find them in the crossword puzzle below (6 – 8 year olds)
Z D C Y H N M K S G J B X
V N O H G O N R S R M N O
K B A R E D E E E G E A N
H B G M O T H E R L U E N
I W B U S E A K R R E I T
O D S N A B A G N X A M S
O C O K W E T E G I D B A
L M S S A E L P R U P L F

Send your answers to ugochinyelu.anidi@gmail.com

Entry requirements: Entrants must be within the 4 – 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 Friday, March 2nd 2018.

Next Book of the Week:

ANIKE ELEKO by Sandra Joubeaud

 

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

 

photo credit: amazon.com