Good reviews in major Nigerian newspapers attend debut of Nneka The Hunchback book
New Books: Nneka, The Hunchback debuts
By HENRY AKUBUIRO (akuhen.sunnewsonline.com)
Sunday, June 24, 2007
A new children's story book, Nneka, The Hunchback, by Chinyere Nwakanma, the wife of former Vanguard arts editor, Obi Nwakanma, is the first in a series by the writer planned to give a modern makeover to African folk tales and bring them to the modern age.
Nneka, The Hunchback is a full colour illustrated story book with read along audio disc that recreates the traditional story telling format of African nights in combination with modern prose forms.
The storybook is a simple story set in the context of African folk tales. It tells the story of a young girl who receives love to overcome her handicap but suffers a relapse because of her undue attention to peer pressure, societal expectations and the cares of the world.
The book is written in panels with illustrations for every panel. Nneka, The Hunchback's colourful illustrations are evocative and similar in quality to the famous Ladybird stories series.Christian moral undertone is strong and evident in the book.
According to Blueflower Books Limited, the publisher, "The book is written in Standard English usage. It has high readability, 78.5% on the Flesch scale and 4.7 on the Flesch-Kincaid Grade level. The book is thus suitable for pupils and students from Primary Class Five through JS 2 and above. It can serve as an instructional book in school or for family leisure reading."
To recapture the oral medium of traditional way of telling folktales in Africa, Blueflower Books has packaged an audio rendition of the story in the traditional format, which is attached to the book. The book is on sale in major bookshops in Lagos.
The author, Augusta Chinyere Nwakanma, is an artist, designer, a teen church pastor, and marketing professional. She is also a writer and bibliophile
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