To celebrate the World Book Day on the 2nd of March, I was happy to be selected for the book reading session to a class of pupils in our nearby primary school. Not only was I worried about what to read, I also worried about the song to sing that would interest children from different backgrounds. I decided to check our local library to find any "relative" African story which would be distinct and also serve as a takeaway to the weans. Luckily, I came by these two African myth children stories, The Mother of Monsters and No Dinner for Anansi. I skimmed through the tales, gave them my approvals and took them with me.
In class, my reading captured the attention of the kids as I leafed through the book. It felt like Tales by Moonlight in Africa.
As I read along the lines, I became grateful to the authors of these stories, I was happy these books came to my rescue. I did not want to read what the kids were used to. I mean from Harry Potter to Jeff Kinney's series. To me, that would feel like regurgitation. So I read with admiration in this little opportunity. As I finished and got on to questions on 'Morals of the story' session, I was not surprised that the kids were all attentive and inquisitive. They thanked me collectively and individually and I left.
