-
Lagos: City of the Imagination – Hardcover
“I don’t think you can be in Lagos without becoming aware of its potency; when Lagos gets itself organised it will be extremely powerful; and already – without organisation – it is very powerful.” Rem Koolhaas, 2002
Lagos is fast becoming a global city – a place people visit for curiosity and the vibe as much as for business or family. The mesmerising energy and intensity of the city have to be experienced to be understood. But what is the story of Lagos? When did the city begin? Who were the first inhabitants? When did it become the city of iniquity and wisdom that continues to confound all who encounters it? Who have been the key chroniclers of this real yet imaginary city?
Veteran journalist and writer Kaye Whiteman has given us a gem that answers these questions and more. Lagos: City of the Imagination explains the origins of Lagos as both outpost of the Benin Empire and also the city run by the White Cap Chiefs. Whiteman shows that Lagos was always multicultural and cosmopolitan, with the Portuguese and later educated returnees from Sierra Leone and artisans from Brazil adding to the eclectic mix.
The book examines the key moments in the history of Lagos: from the concerted attack by the British in the 1860s, Independence in 1960, the 1966 coup through to FESTAC and the assassination of Murtala Muhammed. Also included are vivid character portraits of some of the most powerful Lagosians in history, from Oba Kosoko and Madam Tinubu, to well-regarded colonial figures such as Sir Bernard Bourdillon and those – like Lord Lugard – not so fondly remembered.
As the name suggests, Lagos: City of the Imagination deals extensively in those for whom Lagos is the backdrop of their work, from highlife musicians and Fela Kuti to Wole Soyinka and, more recently, the American-Nigerian writer Teju Cole.
Lagos: City of the Imagination is an absorbing and delightful “must-read” for anyone with an interest in one of the most dramatic cities of the 21st century.
₵90.00 -
All About Ama (Hardcover)
Age Range: 2 – 5 years
Read All About Ama as she points to and names different parts of her body.
Illustrated with colour photos, this short, simple concept book, though developed by Kathy Knowles for an African readership, should also have a North American market as nothing in the photos, including the background, situates the book geographically. The concept with which the book deals is that of the body’s principal parts, including the number of each. The book’s narrator, Ama, who is a very cute little girl, begins at her head and simply works her way down to her two feet, before pointing out, almost as an afterthought, “I have LOTS of hair.”
All About Ama, with its tight, brief text, is a fine book for parents to use with their youngsters as they learn the names of body parts. Just 18 cm high by 16 cm wide, the book is also the perfect size for young hands to hold.
An excellent home purchase for toddlers, All About Ama deserves a place in all libraries serving preschoolers.
₵36.00All About Ama (Hardcover)
₵36.00 -
Crocodile Bread (Hardcover)
Age Range: 4 – 8 years
Agnes Amoah is a proud baker in Ghana. She has been making crocodile bread ever since she was a little girl. Francisca, her granddaughter, tells the story.
A great book to introduce your children to breadmaking and baking!
₵63.00Crocodile Bread (Hardcover)
₵63.00 -
My First Copy Book
Introduces the children to the writing of alphabets and help build handwriting skills, right from the beginning. With tracing lines and lines for them to write in-between.
Widely-used and recommended by many schools in Ghana.
₵16.00My First Copy Book
₵16.00 -
My Second Copy Book
Introduces the children to the writing of alphabets and help build handwriting skills, right from the beginning. With tracing lines and lines for them to write in-between.
Widely-used and recommended by many schools in Ghana.
₵19.50My Second Copy Book
₵19.50 -
Kente for a King (Hardcover)
Age Range: 7 – 10 years
Kathy Knowles’ retelling of Angela Christian’s Kente for a King describes the journey of Opoku, a weaver from Bonwire, Ghana, and his quest to make the most magnificent kente cloth for his beloved King.
Edmund Opare’s finely detailed illustrations and his ability to capture the magnitude of Opoku’s achievements within a traditional Ghanaian setting are a fitting tribute to Angela Christian’s beautiful story.
₵55.00Kente for a King (Hardcover)
₵55.00 -
A is for Ampe: An Alphabet Book from Ghana
Age Range: 2 – 5 years
Pre-school – Grade 1
A is for Ampe: An Alphabet Book from Ghana is a must-add book for youngsters’ home libraries as well as a must-purchase by day cares, kindergartens, early years classrooms and the children’s section of public libraries.
In this well-designed alphabet book, the entire alphabet, in upper case, runs across the top of each page which has the focused-upon letter being presented in bolded, larger print. At the bottom of the page, the upper case letter appears in one corner and the lower case in the other. In between is the very brief text which follows a simple, standard pattern, eg. “D is for drum” or “T is for twins.” The objects used to represent the letters can be found in Hildebrand’s and Knowles’ full colour photos which occupy most of each page. Children will encounter the familiar, such as “E is for eggs” and “U is for umbrella,” but, as the short title indicates, they will also meet many new words. Hopefully, those adults who will be sharing this book with pre-readers will have, themselves, first read the book so that they will have discovered at the book’s conclusion the “Glossary of Ghanaian Words” in which Knowles, in addition to providing, where needed, a pronunciation guide, has explained eight Ghanaian terms, including the title’s “Ampe [AHM-pay]: A challenging game, usually played by girls, which involves jumping and clapping. The leading player tries to beat her opponent by the tactical placement of her left or right foot.”
₵30.00 -
The Lion’s Whisper
2018 CODE Burt Award for African Young Adult Literature FinalistLeo and David, both fifteen years old, are neighbours who are divided by more than just a wall. When David unexpectedly reaches out to him, Leo hesitantly accepts and David soon becomes a secret brother, helping Leo overcome a paralysing fear from his past.
Leo embarks with David on a mission to root out the answer to a mystery that has tormented David for years. Their friendship is tested beyond the wire as bitterness and betrayal pitch their families, and ultimately the boys themselves, against each other.
Then a bloody military coup rips Leo’s world apart and he has to find courage he never had before and an ally. But after all the years of bitterness, can Leo afford to forgive and trust his family’s enemy?
₵45.00The Lion’s Whisper
₵45.00 -
Ebony Girl
2018 CODE Burt Award for African Young Adult Literature FinalistSometimes, all you need to do is to face your fears with an ashen face and unblinking eyes.Not able to contain the tantrums thrown at her due to her ‘unusual’ skin colour, hair texture and height, Asabea’s parents do what they think is best for her — send her to a place where she will fit in. Asabea’s fury and sorrow deepens, not at those who taunt her but with her parents.Too angry to fight anymore, she finds solace in her grandmother and a sea of others who challenge her to defy her fears and see the world through a different lens.₵45.00Ebony Girl
₵45.00 -
Kofi and the Wedding Dress (The Adventures of Naughty Kofi #4)
Age Range: 6 – 11 years
Kofi Opoku is at it again! His mother has been asked to sew a wedding dress, for the daughter of one of the richest women in Botikrom. All seems well, until a dare almost ruins everything! Will Kofi be able to get away with it?
₵35.00 -
Blood Invasion
Cudjo completes his nursing training and internship in a city hospital and is delighted to be posted to his hometown to serve his people. But, after only a few years of dedicated service, he is confronted by a devastating disease that stigmatises and destroys without mercy.
He weeps in silence for his friend Babio and lives in perpetual shock over Adam and Akuvi, two companions who forgot one basic principle of staying alive in risky times.
So daring is the invading virus that not even Cudjo himself, the passionate campaigner, is spared. Now what will happen to him and Arabe, his fiancée, when no cure has been found for this bloody ailment?
Blood Invasion is an unforgettable tale, the disturbing saga of a deadly disease that puts family, friendship, and love on trial…a powerful reminder that living must be done more carefully.
₵35.00Blood Invasion
₵35.00 -
First Term Surprises (Senior High School Days #1)
Kukua can’t believe what she sees when she goes to the internet café to check her BECE results. Aggregate 14? What happened to the Ten Ones she worked hard for?
And when the posting arrive and she realizes she’s been sent to her third-choice school, she feels completely devastated. Where is this Eternity Senior High School, anyway?
But when courage overrides frustration, Kukua packs reluctantly and arrives at Eternity, the school on the hill along the beach road.
It is here that a series of surprises welcome her throughout the first term.
The biggest surprise of all is Samira, the girl Kukua meets who has a bigger-than-life story. Can a baby be thrown away at birth and still manage to grow up and enter senior high school?
Surely, first term in the senior high school is full of surprises!
₵35.00 -
Second Term Expectations (Senior High School Days #2)
In the second term, Kukua and her mates run into several experiences that blow their minds away. Did you ever hear about a Virgins’ Club? And why is Samira about to be sent home at the beginning of term?
Enter Miss Kudjo’s Literature class for excitement. But don’t mess with Mr. Bayo, the senior housemaster of Sabanna. Ask the three students why Mr. Bayo sees to it that they are suspended for one term.
Kukua never thougt that examination fever can cause her to do what she does to make Mr. Binka punish her severely.
Second term at Eternity Senior High School turns out to be highly eventful, with lots of expectations to pursue.
₵35.00 -
Third Term Challenges (Senior High School Days #3)
How time flies! The days seem to be crawling, but here is third term already. For Kukua and her friend Samira, the challenges in the third term are very high.
In the midst of studying hard for the impending examination, how does Samira handle the appearance of a strange woman who claims to be her long-lost and forgotten biological mother? Now Samira is afraid and worried. “I dreamt that the woman kidnapped me and placed me in a huge castle . . .”
Will her dreadful dream become a reality, since the strange woman is not about to forgo her quest to find her daughter? These are challenging times in senor high school. Kukua and Samira experience their share of tough moments and learn how to stand the difficult moments in school.
₵35.00 -
Long Vacation Encounters (Senior High School Days #4)
When the long vacation is over and Kukua and Samira return to school, guess what they encounter on the Headmaster’s Honours’ List?
Yet Kukua is careful in taking delight in this academic achievement. After all, “academic success is not an end in itself but a means to an end,” she recalls Grandma writing in one of her letters.
₵35.00