Only recently when writer of children's books and literary activist Tessy Ameh gave an interview in which she said not all children's books should teach morals, many people thought it was strange that she should say that. But I understood her perfectly. I come from a reading background where we were often encouraged to read for pleasure, to follow our imaginations and just enjoy. When an exciting book is designated a textbook, it becomes boring and uninteresting. Also it's good to have books with morals like "so what lessons have we learnt today?" That's good but there should be books where we go to live as children, settings where we travel to and characters who become our family. That is a magical place. If you started reading at a very young age like I did, then you would have been to this ethereal world where you exist along with the characters, a dreamlike place full of enjoyment, fantasy, love and fairies. Every child deserves to have lived in these places even if it is only once. On the eve of children's day, I would like to share with you and your children, books that have held me spellbound when I was young and I still enjoy them even now.
1) Any book by Enid Blyton. A lot of Nigerian writers take issues with some of the books that were foisted on us by colonialists. But trust me, there were some of those books that stayed with me forever. I was always smack in the middle of any of Enid Blyton's adventures whenever I was reading them and I thoroughly enjoyed them. Adventurous, funny and interesting. I still read them today. They will boost children's vocabulary and that's a bonus.
2) Dauda and the Cockerel by award winning broadcaster and writer, Alkassim Abdulkadir. A beautiful story that will encourage your children to read. It is simple and slim and reader friendly.
3) Poetry is good for the soul. The elegance of the words should make the young person improve their vocabulary and learn how to use words better. Introduce them to poetry early. West African Verse is a good place to start, if you can find it. This is where I encountered John Pepper Clark's iconic poem, Ibadan. I was twelve years old.
4) Hans Anderson's fairy tales. There is nothing as beautiful as a collection of magical tales from Snow white to Rapunzel and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. With this collection I was transported to different lands and thoroughly enjoyed the tales. There were morals yes but they were not clobbering me on the head and they were still magical.
5) Arabian Nights. These were stories that kept me in the book forever. I could not leave to do anything else. I was just amazed by the story, the characters and the way in which the story unfolds. Every child should read Arabian Nights. BONUS BOOKS
Chinua Achebe's Chike and the River. Get several copies for your children before it becomes too expensive. After all it's an Achebe, a classic.
Get Wole Soyinka's Jero,'s plays if your child is already nine years old. It's an amazingly hilarious story of a scam artist in a church. The sheer hilarity is audacious.
Get NLNG shortlisted children writer Chinyere Obi Obasi's book,The Great Fall for your children. Well told and exciting. It's a book even adults will enjoy.
LAST WORD: As we celebrate this year's children's day, please get a book for your children. Let them just read for the pleasure of it. Let them savour the words, the story and enjoy the characters. A book remains in a child's head forever. Happy children's day to all our young fans. Make your parents buy you a book to commemorate the day.
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