Madoulina (Story from West Africa) [Paperback]

Joe Eoueme Bognomo (Author), Joe Eoueme Bognmo (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1999 | Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up | Series: Story from West Africa

Since her father abandoned the family, eight-year-old Madoulina has helped her mother by selling fritters all day while her younger brother goes to school, but she hopes the new teacher can convince her mother that girls should go to school, too.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-3-Based on a play the author wrote for television, this story is told by eight-year-old Madoulina, who lives with her mother and younger brother in a poor section of Cameroon. While her brother goes to school, Madoulina must help her mother earn money by selling fritters in town. She meets the new teacher and relates her story; he visits the girl's mother and tells her how important it is for girls to be educated. The woman finally agrees to let Madoulina attend, after the teacher promises that the school will buy her fritters to give to the students. The illustrations appear to be ink drawings filled in with watercolor wash in soft shades of blue, green, yellow, and ocher, and the human figures are awkwardly rendered. The text is simply written, boring, and didactic. A poorly executed adaptation.
Diane S. Marton, Arlington County Library, VA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

Madoulina, an eight-year-old girl from Cameroon, would much rather go to school than sell fritters in the market place. But her family needs money, and that's more important than her education. Or so they think, until the day Madoulina meets Mr. Garba, a teacher. He concocts a plan so that Madoulina can go to class and sell the fritters to the school for lunch. Despite having to make up several weeks of homework, Madoulina is overjoyed to return to her friends and her lessons, and Mr. Garba ends up becoming ``like a father'' to her. The cultural differences between the US and Cameroon, which this book highlights, isn't wealth or class, but the attitudes toward education. It will be an eye-opener for most American children: in countries where child labor is necessary to sustain a family, education is a luxury. The bright, folksy illustrationsunusually naiveportray West African family life; fritters are cooked outdoors around a fire, and the kitchen ceiling is nothing but blue sky and the leaves of banana trees. (Picture book. 4-8) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Boyds Mills Press (September 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563978229
• ISBN-13: 978-1563978227
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 8 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.7 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,980,511 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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