KOKU BABONI; A Child-reader's Delight

Did you ever read...okay scratch that. Have you read Koku Baboni by Kola Onadipe? 

It was definitely the Abuja children's delight in our last club meeting. 

Koku ,one of a set of twins is customarily abandoned and left to perish. Is it right to do that? What about our Human Right to Live. Did he survive the ordeal?,.....and what was the result of his experience? We discussed all these after reading the book.

With reference to the dramatic nature of the book, most of the kids admitted that they were enthralled by the plot twist.

"Plot Twist" was a surprising phrase from the mouth of the kids. Even though it was a pleasant surprise, we had to delve into the subject of plots and twist. We learned that every story has a beginning, a middle and an end. We defined cliff-hangers together and pointed out extra plot lines in the story.

One of the kids found a whole chapter unnecessary and wondered why the author included it...Interesting eh? We let them construct and deconstruct as much as they will.

The capacity for expansion that these young minds show in every meeting does not fail to surprise me.

In commemoration of the International Day of the Girl Child, we had a staff of  WRAPA come in to talk to us about the importance of women in the society. 

READ: Our lessons from the Girl Child Interaction

 Among the many things the children said they learnt, they said they learned that every job a man can do, a woman can also do, and that no gender is more important than the other.

And then because, all work and no play makes "Jack double J" a dull boy, we proceeded to Uncle D's for a movie to unwind... DIARY OF A WHIMPY KID...Ever watched that? You should if you havent.

The younger class read through Tessie Ameh's LESSONS FROM AUNTY TALATU.

Kola Onadipe dedicated most of his life writing books for Children. We have read THE SUGAR GIRL and the club will be reading some of them in the coming weeks.  These include

• The adventures of Souza. Ibadan: African Universities Press, 1963. ISBN 0-410-80038-4
• The boy slave. Lagos: African Universities Press, 1966. OCLC number 623440282
• Koku Baboni. Ibadan: African Universities Press, 1965. OCLC number 26910639
• Sugar girl. Nairobi: East African Pub, 1964. OCLC number 731260
• The magic land of the shadows. Lagos: African University Press, 1970. OCLC number 32497510
• The forest is our playground. Lagos, Nigeria: Africa Universities Press, 1972. OCLC number 1736920
• The return of Shettima. Lagos: University Press, 1972. OCLC number 1747640
• Builders of Africa. Ijebu-Ode, Nigeria: Natona Press, 1980. ISBN 978-178-004-5
• Footprints on the Niger. Ijebu-Ode, Nigeria: Natona Press, 1980. ISBN 978-178-006-1
• Sunny boy. Ijebu-Ode: Natona Press, 1980. OCLC number 9633828
• Sweet mother. Ijebu-Ode [Nigeria]: Natona Press, 1980. ISBN 978-178-001-0
• Around Nigeria in thirty days. Nigeria:Natona, 1981. ISBN 978-178-027-4
• Call me Michael. Ijebu-Ode, Nigeria: Natona Press, 1981. ISBN 978-178-017-7
• Halima must not die : and other plays for schools. Ijebu-Ode: Natona Press, 1981. ISBN 978-178-026-6
• Happy birthday : queen for a day. Ijebu-Ode, Nigeria: Natona Press, 1982. ISBN 978-178-005-3
• Mothers-In-Law. 1982
• The Other Woman. 1982
• A pot of gold. Ijebu-Ode, Nigeria: Natona Press Publishers, 1984. ISBN 978-178-008-8
• Beloved daughters. Ijebu-Ode, Nigeria: Natona Press, 1985. ISBN 978-178-022-3
• The king is naked : and other stories. Ijebu-Ode, Nigeria: Natona Press, 1985. ISBN 978-178-025-8
• The mysterious twins. Ijebu-Ode: Natona, 1986. OCLC number 633642923
• Binta : beautiful bride. Ijebu-Ode, Nigeria: Natona Press, 1988. ISBN 978-978-178-041-7