Half Hour Hara at the 2021 Akada Children’s Book Festival
I am excited to announce to you that I will be speaking at this year’s Akada Children’s Book Festival, themed “My Happy Place” holding on the 1st -3rd of July, 2021. The Akada Children’s Book Festival (ACBF) is a fun event to showcase children’s books written by African authors, or books written by authors around the world for a diverse audience of children. Think: Bunmi Aboderin Talabi, Jude Idada, Ayo Oyeku, Yejide Kilanko, Nnenna Ochiche and more …😁 There is also a free writing workshop by accord Literary’s finest: Sarah Odedina and Deborah Ahenkorah!!
Do you know the almost best part? It’s an online event. You can join in from wherever you are on the globe and it is absolutely free. All you need to do is register at akadafestival.org
The best part, on Saturday July 3rd at 1pm, you will get a sneak peek of my book, ‘The Case of the Broken Eggs’, the first book in the Half Hour Hara series!!
In this book by the 2016 Golden Baobab picture book award-winner Venessa Scholtz, the reader embarks on a journey with young Dada Ade who doesn’t like her kinky, curly, crimped, wild and unruly hair. Wanting to exchange her hair for something better, Dada Ade sets out to find the Good Hair Fairy. On her way, she meets several animals who offer her their ‘hair’: the furry cat, the feathered duck, the scaly chameleon. But the best part of the story comes when Dada Ade finally meets the Good Hair Fairy. Read the story to find out the grand surprise at the end.
THUMBS UP AND DOWN
UP: Told in a manner reminiscent of the folktales I heard as a child, this made me smile. My boys and I loved it. The text is lyrical and makes for a great read-aloud. The story is fun and educational; readers learn about different types of animal body coverings/hair. Alaba Onajin again provides vibrant illustrations which make an already good book even better. The icing on the cake is the surprise at the end of the book plus the lesson.
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 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, January 31st 2021.
Nandi wanted Dad to stay in school with her so she wailed and wailed and wailed until Dad promised to go to school with her for a whole day. The very next day, he did just that. But things didn’t quite turn out the way Nandi hoped…
THUMBS UP AND DOWN
UP: This book was shortlisted for the 2014 Golden Baobab Prize for Picture Books, one of the best prizes for African Kid’s Lit! Perfect for every child with a love for early morning tantrums, it reminds me of the line, ‘Be careful what you wish for because you just might get it!’
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 9th 2018.
Michelle and her sister Wanjiku lived in small village in Kenya filled with happy people. That year, the rains refused to come, the crops dried out and everyone was scared they wouldn’t have enough food to eat. The adults became grumpy and mean people who barely spoke and the little children stopped laughing. Things changed one day when a mysterious woman named Malaika – and her kiosk – appeared in the village market. Malaika gave all the things in her kiosk to the villagers for free, she made grouchy Mrs. Karanja smile and turned Mrs. Karuki’s brown teeth sparkling white. Everyone loved her. Read the book to find out who the mysterious Malaika was and what she did to the girls and their small village.
THUMBS UP AND DOWN
UP: This book was shortlisted for the Golden Baobab Prize for Picture Books in 2014, one of the best prizes for African Kid’s Lit! I was really excited when I got a copy and it didn’t disappoint. It had a feel good ending, the type that keeps a small smile on your face hours after you’ve read it. The illustrations were good too. I have a thing for illustrations especially in picture books, they have to be perfect. So much depends on them. This book had good illustrations. Young readers will gain a sneak peek of rural living in Kenya and will learn a word or two in Swahili. It also features a small glossary for the Swahili words used in the book.
DOWN: None.
RATING
4 Stars
TRIVIA
“Jambo” “Habari” are forms of greeting in Swahili, the language spoken by Malaika and the girls in this book and by a lot of East Africans especially Kenyans.
HAVE FUN WITH THIS BOOK
Watch the book trailer here:
CHALLENGE: Malaika’s Magical Kiosk
CREATE (WRITE a Story/Poem OR DRAW)
List 5 items on Malaika’s body and find the items in the grid below (6-8 year olds)
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Draw and colour Malaika and a magical kiosk. (4-5 year olds)
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 Wednesday, December 7th 2016.
U G O . . . .A N I D I 
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