Tag Archives: fatima akilu

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

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The Red Transistor Radio

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

February is Millennium Development Goals Month

Title: The Red Transistor Radio

Author: Fatima Akilu

Publisher: Cassava Republic Press

Number of pages: 32

Type of Book: Fiction; Educational

Age: 4 – 8

Buy it here: http://www.cassavarepublic.biz/collections/childrens-books/products/the-red-transistor-radio

Price: N1200

MY SUMMARY

Khalida’s mummy had an old red transistor radio that she played ALL the time and Khalida was tired of hearing that radio. Finally, one day, she burst out,

“Mama … Why do you listen to this radio all day? It’s very annoying!”

Her aunty gave her the weirdest answer ever. “… that radio is special … it has made many things happen, including you, Khalida”

Khalida didn’t think much of her aunt’s response until she was given an assignment in school to write a story about something unusual that happened to her.

So Khalida asked her parents how the radio made her. Read the book to find out how the red transistor radio made Khalida and how its story made her famous!

THUMBS UP AND DOWN

UP: It emphasizes the Millennium Development Goal of improving maternal health. It takes an important and very adult subject and breaks into tiny nuggets, making it easy for young readers to digest. It also does this in the most peculiar yet fun way, using the story of a radio. Young readers learn how to prevent maternal mortality and improve maternal health by making sure pregnant women frequent antenatal clinics, eat balanced diets and have their babies in hospitals.

DOWN: None.

RATING

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

TRIVIA

  1. The subject of this story is the Millennium Development Goal of improving maternal health.

HAVE FUN WITH THIS BOOK

  1. Read an excerpt here: http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0103/7312/files/Excerpt_for_websitePages_from_Red_Transistor_01-32_tp.pdf?3624
  2. Learn more about the 7th Millennium Development Goal here: https://www.unicef.org/mdg/files/childfriendlymdgs_edited.pdf

 CHALLENGE: The Red Transistor Radio

CREATE (WRITE a Story/Poem OR DRAW)

Read the story above and answer the questions below:

  1. Draw a girl in a Fulani outfit (4 – 6 year olds)
  1. List the Millennium Development Goals? (7 – 8 year olds)

OR

  1. Draw a picture showing 3 things pregnant women can do to prevent maternal mortality. (7 – 8 year olds)

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 Thursday, February 16th 2017.

Next Book of the Week:

NGOZI COMES TO TOWN by Fatima Akilu

 

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photo credit: cassavarepublic.biz

 

 

 

Aliyyah Learns a New Dance

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

February is Millennium Development Goals Month

 

Aliyyah learns a new dance

 Title: Aliyyah Learns a New Dance

Author: Fatima Akilu

Publisher: Cassava Republic Press

Number of pages: 32

Type of Book: Fiction; Educational

Age: 4 – 8

Buy it here: http://www.cassavarepublic.biz/products/aliyyah-learns-a-new-dance

Price: N1200

MY SUMMARY

Aliyyah loved dancing and she was very good at it too. One day, she was chosen to represent Nigeria at an African dance competition in Tanzania. At the competition, she met and befriended dancers from different African countries especially Fanta, from Ghana. A month after winning the competition in Tanzania, Aliyyah was invited to represent Nigeria in another dance competition, this time in Sweden. Aliyyah, her family, her school, in fact the whole country were ecstatic. Her brother Ashraf started practicing new dance moves with her, the whole school suggested new dance moves, a national competition was even held to design her costume for the competition.

Shortly afterwards, she travelled to Sweden where she met young dancers from all over the world, Japan, China, India, Serbia. She learnt about their culture, e.g. the Japanese Kimono, the Indian Sari and she learnt new languages too (some words in Hindi and Cantonese).

Read the book to learn whether or not Aliyyah won the competition and all the things she learnt from her new friends. Other books in the MDG series by the same author are Ngozi comes to town and Preye and the sea of Plastic, see review here.

THUMBS UP AND DOWN

UP: It emphasizes the Millennium Development Goal of developing global partnerships. It shows young readers that the world is a global village and we should learn as much as possible from and about our neighbours.

It also shows them that hard work pays, that anything worth doing is worth doing well and that they should strive for excellence in everything. Aliyyah is seen practicing a few times in the book and winning prizes afterwards. Most importantly, it shows young readers the advantages and the need for forging global partnerships. Aliyyah’s costume for the competition in Sweden was sewn by a tailor in Abeokuta, with a fabric made in a Chinese-owned factory in Calabar. This fabric was made from cotton grown in Nigeria whose seeds were sourced in the United States.

It ends with a beautiful line ‘Who thought I could learn so much through dance?”

DOWN: None.

RATING

5 Stars

TRIVIA

  1. The subject of this story is the Millennium Development Goal of developing global partnerships.

HAVE FUN WITH THIS BOOK

  1. Read an excerpt here: http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0103/7312/files/Pages_from_Aliyyah_2011.2.pdf?3813
  2. Jigsaw puzzle here: http://www.jigsawplanet.com/?rc=play&pid=2ac0249767c7
  3. Learn more about the 7th Millennium Development Goal here: https://www.unicef.org/mdg/files/childfriendlymdgs_edited.pdf

CHALLENGE: Aliyyah Learns a New Dance

CREATE (WRITE a Story/Poem OR DRAW)

  1. Draw a girl in a Fulani outfit (4 – 6 year olds)
  1. List the Millennium Development Goals? (7 – 8 year olds)

OR

  1. Name the traditional clothing worn by women in the following countries
    1. India
    2. Japan
    3. China
    4. Scotland

Find them in the crossword puzzle below (7 – 8 year olds)

Z D C Y H N M K D G J B X
V G C H E O N G S A M N O
K S A R I D R E S I S A E
H J O H T D W E O M H I N
I F T H S O L A R O E I T
O F S J A V S K T N S U S
O C N K I L T E E O C N A
L X S B A N G L S A K 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 Thursday, February 9th 2017.

Next Book of the Week:

THE RED TRANSISTOR RADIO by Fatima Akilu

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photo credit: cassavarepublic.biz

 

Preye and the Sea of Plastic

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

 

Title: Preye and the Sea of Plastic

Author: Fatima Akilu

Publisher: Cassava Republic Press

Number of pages: 32

Type of Book: Fiction; Educational

Age: 4 – 8

Buy it here: http://www.cassavarepublic.biz/products/preye-and-the-sea-of-plastic

Price: N1200

MY SUMMARY

Preye is plagued by the plastic bags strewn all over his neighbourhood; on the playground, in the farms and markets, on the roads, everywhere. One day, he decides to take matters into his own hands and he starts an action group made up of kids! This group storms the District Head’s Office and then the local TV station to get adults to help their cause. Eventually, they make a film/documentary about the harmful effects of the use of plastic bags on the environment. This film makes the kids popular and soon enough, they are giving speeches in different towns and having meetings with the president! Better still, they convince market sellers to use paper bags and raffia baskets in place of plastic bags! Read the book to find out what Preye (maybe) plans to do next!

THUMBS UP AND DOWN

UP: It shows kids that they can make a difference in the world, irrespective of their age. It shows also the advantages of team work (the kids in the action group had to split into 3 groups of 5 to conduct research, film and conduct interviews for their film (documentary)). Most importantly, it shows young readers the importance of keeping our environment safe and clean for man and animals and that they are just as responsible for it as the adults are!

DOWN: None. Well, I wish it showed kids simple practical ways to keep the environment clean e.g. by putting rubbish in bins instead of dumping them on the road, turning some to compost, etc. For kid friendly tips on saving the environment, read our next book of the week, “Help Your Parents Save the Planet”. Subscribe now and get it in your mail!

RATING

4 Stars

TRIVIA

  1. The subject of this story is the Millennium Development Goal of Ensuring Environmental Sustainability.

HAVE FUN WITH THIS BOOK

  1. Read an excerpt here: http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0103/7312/files/Excerpt_for_website_Pages_from_Preye_2011.pdf?3621
  2. Learn more about the Millennium Development Goals here: https://www.unicef.org/mdg/files/childfriendlymdgs_edited.pdf

 

CHALLENGE: Preye and the Sea of Plastic

CREATE (WRITE a Story/Poem OR DRAW)

Read the story above and answer the questions below:

  1. List 3 simple things you can do to keep your environment clean (4 – 6 year olds)
  1. List the Millennium Development Goals? (7 – 8 year olds)

OR

  1. Do something to help your community and write a 100-word essay about it (7 – 8 year olds)

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, February 3rd 2017.

Next Book of the Week:

AALIYAH LEARNS A NEW DANCE by Fatima Akilu

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photo credit: cassavarepublic.biz