Learning 10 Nov 2016

Stories come to life at TK

By CIS Communications
Photograph by CIS Communications

This week, the TK library welcomed internationally renowned children’s author and storyteller, Atinuke. Our Grade 3 students were spellbound as Atinuke told stories of life in her native Nigeria, and read from her book The No.1 Car Spotter, a tale of a young Nigerian boy with a passion for cars.

The library fell silent as Atinuke began to tell the tale of the struggles No.1’s family face when Grandma becomes ill and Papa loses his job in the city. How will the family find the money to pay for Grandma to go to the hospital? It wasn’t long before students learnt how one boy’s ingenuity, hard work and risk-taking would improve life for his entire village.

Along with the No.1 Car Spotter series, Atunike has also written a series of books featuring Anna Hibiscus, a girl who lives in “amazing Africa” with her large extended family. Young readers will learn that life is very different in Africa, and a young girl can face, and overcome, many challenges.

Our students asked excellent questions at the end of the session: why would people from the village carry buckets of water on their heads instead of in their arms? If families don’t have money to send their children to school, why don’t they home school them instead? Atunike happily answered them all, broadening students’ understanding of a very different culture.

Many students had ordered copies of Atinuke’s books at the recent PTA book fair and were delighted to learn they would be receiving autographed copies later that day. Our young readers were anxious to start reading more about the adventures of No.1 and Anna Hibiscus.

Many thanks to Ms. Nadine for arranging Atinuke’s visit. The TK library is grateful to the TK PTA for sponsoring this author visit.

Parents can find more information about Atinuke and her books on TK’s library page in My.CIS.

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