SATA
ENTRY TYPE:
WORK TITLE: L Is for Love
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://atinuke-author.weebly.com/
CITY: Wales
STATE:
COUNTRY: United Kingdom
NATIONALITY: Nigerian
LAST VOLUME: SATA 396
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born in Ibadan, Oyo, Nigeria; children: two sons.
EDUCATION:Attended Oxford University (English and commonwealth literatures).
ADDRESS
CAREER
Oral storyteller and writer. Worked variously as a portrait painter, gardener, and artist’s model.
AWARDS:Branford Boase Award shortlist, 2008, and Best Children’s Books selection, Bank Street College of Education, Choices selection, Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC), and Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honor Book selection, all c. 2011, all for Anna Hibiscus; Best Children’s Books selection, Bank Street College of Education, and CCBC Choices selection, both c. 2010, both for Hooray for Anna Hibiscus!, both 2011, for both Good Luck, Anna Hibiscus! and Have Fun, Anna Hibiscus!; CCBC Choices selection, 2011, for Anna Hibiscus’s Song; 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing inclusion, New York Public Library, Best Children’s Books selection, Bank Street College of Education, and CCBC Choices selection, all 2011, and Gryphon Award Honor Book selection, Center for Children’s Books, 2012, all for The No. 1 Car Spotter; Carnegie Medal longlist, for The No. 1 Car Spotter and the Firebird; Audie Award for Children’s Titles, 2014, for Hooray for Anna Hibiscus!; Charlotte Zolotow Award, 2018, for Baby Goes to Market; School Library Association Information Book Award, 2020; British Book Awards in the Children’s Nonfiction Category, 2024, for Brilliant Black History.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
A Nigerian-born storyteller who now lives in Wales, Atinuke is the author of the “Anna Hibiscus” stories, award-winning chapter books and picture books about a spirited African girl, as well as the “No. 1 Car Spotter” tales for boys. “I tell traditional stories from Africa and the African Diaspora,” Atinuke remarked in a Nation online interview with Evelyn Osagie. “I set these traditional tales in the Africa I know and love—a world where village chiefs use mobile phones and village boys wish for BMW’s and iPods. When I’m telling African tales, it’s like being home in Nigeria!”
Atinuke was raised in an affluent neighborhood in Nigeria’s capital city of Lagos. “This is where my love affair with books and stories began, locked behind the great iron gates of the lonely house,” she recalled in an essay on the Walker Books website. After attending an English boarding school, she studied at Oxford University and then traveled throughout Europe, working as a model and painter to fund her trip. “One day, pregnant with my first son, I told a story to some bored children at a festival and that’s when my proper job found me!,” Atinuke remembered. “I haven’t stopped telling stories since.”
Speaking with a Playing by the Book interviewer, Atinuke commented on the importance of the two kinds of storytelling she engages in: “Written storytelling is the play of one person’s mind and heart and imagination. I love making up stories, playing and playing with them, and then sharing them in my books. Oral storytelling is sharing a story that has been ‘worked’ on by centuries of storytellers. I love the fact that when I get up on stage to tell stories I am telling a story that humans have been telling to each other for centuries, that has been proved to be important.”
Atinuke’s first children’s book, Anna Hibiscus, features a series of interconnected short stories about the spunky title character and her large and loving extended family, who make their home in a suburban compound in Nigeria. Anna returns in several other books, among them Hooray for Anna Hibiscus!, in which she attends school for the first time and unsuccessfully attempts to tame her mass of unruly hair. Both books earned praise for their ability to capture everyday life as it is lived in Africa. As Elizabeth Bird noted in a School Library Journal online review, “Not only are the stories” in Hooray for Anna Hibiscus! “charming but they manage to walk the fine line that exists between truth and perception. There’s not a kid in [the United States] that won’t identify with Anna right off the bat, even if her life is entirely different from their own.”
Anna comes to the aid of her less-fortunate neighbors in Good Luck, Anna Hibiscus!, which takes place during harmattan season, as strong winds from the Sahara Desert cover her village in dust. Realizing that the children outside her compound do not have ready access to water, Anna devises a clever solution to the problem. Splash, Anna Hibiscus! follows the girl and her culturally diverse extended family as they enjoy a fun day at the beach. Double Trouble for Anna Hibiscus! focuses on Anna’s feelings when her own family grows with the arrival of twin siblings, and in Have Fun, Anna Hibiscus! the youngster travels overseas to visit her Canadian grandmother.
In Good Luck, Anna Hibiscus!, “Atinuke [characteristically] handles the complexity of life in Africa … with deftness and grace,” according to Nicole Waskie-Laura in a review in School Library Journal, and colleague Catherine Callegari concluded of Splash, Anna Hibiscus! that “this lovely story will leave readers pining for a family day in the sun.” Praising the “remarkably expressive” illustrations of series illustrator Lauren Tobia, a Kirkus Reviews writer dubbed Double Trouble for Anna Hibiscus! “a double pleasure for old friends and new,” and Anna Haase Krueger wrote in School Library Journal that the story “believably portray[s] … the emotional highs and lows of childhood.”
Other works starring Atinuke’s irrepressible young character include Welcome Home, Anna Hibiscus! and You’re Amazing, Anna Hibiscus! The first title picks up where Have Fun, Anna Hibiscus! left off, as the youngster returns from her Canadian trip to learn that one of the family’s chickens has laid eggs. Anna joyously adopts one of the chicks after it hatches, but her new pet, dubbed Snow White, proves to be quite a handful. “Despite the African setting, these are sweet domestic stories North American readers will easily understand,” a writer noted in Kirkus Reviews. “Anna’s adventures and worries are small, recognizable, and happily resolved.”
In Go Well, Anna Hibiscus!, the protagonist visits her grandfather’s ancestral village, where she adjusts to life without running water and electricity and experiences prejudice because of her light-colored skin. “Filtered through Anna’s open-hearted innocence these lessons do not feel preachy,” a critic remarked in Kirkus Reviews. The seventh installment in Atinuke’s series, Love from Anna Hibiscus! chronicles the heroine’s further adventures in her grandfather’s village. After a little boy steals a banana from her during a trip to the market, Anna chooses not to punish the orphaned, impoverished thief, and they become fast friends, with Anna caring for the youth when he falls ill. “All this is accomplished in four brief chapters using simple, direct language aligned to the abilities of newly independent chapter-book readers,” according to a Kirkus Reviews contributor.
A critic in Kirkus Reviews offered praise for the “gentle, frank tone” of You’re Amazing, Anna Hibiscus!, in which the title character must cope with the death of her beloved granddad. “The book ends with near-perfect modeling of shared grief and healing, as everyone tells their favorite grandfather story,” the Kirkus Reviews writer added. Atinuke’s focus on the importance of family is a key to the success of the “Anna Hibiscus” series, Megan Dowd Lambert observed in Horn Book. “Satisfying resolutions for … the … troubles Anna Hibiscus faces arise through guidance from her elders and her own thoughtful introspection,” the reviewer stated.
Anna Hibiscus’ Song celebrates familial love. While observing her relatives at work in the compound, the little girl fills with joy and attempts to find an appropriate way to express herself. “Readers will easily identify with Anna’s glee … and find it infectious,” observed a contributor in Publishers Weekly, while Horn Book critic Robin L. Smith maintained that “everything is on a small scale in these books, allowing the reader to easily identify with the situations.” Atinuke’s “simple, predictable tale has a warm, loving feeling,” Margaret R. Tassia concluded in School Library Journal, “and the plot and theme [of Anna Hibiscus’ Song ] are universal.”
In The No. 1 Car Spotter and The No. 1 Car Spotter and the Firebird, Atinuke introduce Oluwalase Babatunde Benson, a young African villager with the remarkable ability to identify the make and model of virtually any automobile he sees. In the first book, Oluwalase transforms a disabled Toyota when his village’s only cart breaks down, leaving the inhabitants unable to transport their goods to market. The No. 1 Car Spotter and the Firebird finds the lad brushing up on skills his parents deem useful until his central talent proves useful to vacationers stuck in the mud caused by seasonal rains.
“As in Anna [Hibiscus] and her sequels, these four interconnected short stories revel in the language and rhythms of oral storytelling,” asserted a Kirkus Reviews contributor. Writing that Warwick Johnson Cadwell’s illustrations “add humor and move the story” in The No. 1 Car Spotter and the Firebird, Stacy Dillon observed in School Library Journal that Atinuke’s read-aloud story features a hero with a “can-do-spirit and enthusiasm.” Other books in the author’s boy-centered series include The No. 1 Car Spotter Goes to School and The No. 1 Car Spotter and the Broken Road.
Atinuke teamed up with illustrator Angela Brooksbank to bring young readers the joys of a bustling African marketplace. In an interview with Book Q&As with Deborah Kalb, Atinuke reminisced, “The colour, the noise, the heat, the chaos, the fun, the friendliness. Baby Goes to Market captures some of it!” She added, “I hope that kids take away a sense of the colour and fun of West African culture, and the friendliness and love that we have for babies.” Atinuke and Brooksbank’s first collaboration finds Baby riding atop Mama’s back through the market and getting gifts of food from all the delighted vendors. The numbers of fruits, biscuits, and more count down to one, with Baby always eating one item and secretly filling her mother’s basket with the rest. A Kirkus Reviews writer, appreciating the arithmetic primer and how “the text keeps up its rhythm,” concluded, “No one will be able to resist this baby.”
Atinuke and Brooksbank bring their little heroine back in B Is for Baby, which highlights an abundance of B words as Baby secretly joins her brother for a bicycle ride. A Kirkus Reviews writer affirmed that Atinuke has “bottled the delightful energy of the Anna Hibiscus books and poured it into this … circular tale of family love with visual rewards for sharp-eyed listeners.”
The “Baby” series continued with Baby, Sleepy Baby. In this board book, members of the baby’s family take turns cuddling and singing the baby to sleep, creating a kind of lullaby for the book’s readers. Brooksbank returns with gentle, comforting illustrations of this interracial family. Calling the story “a lovely nod to the importance of extended family,” Kay Weisnman in Booklist also noticed how the illustrations become darker as the story reaches its conclusion, reflecting the closing of the day. “Cozy as can be” is how a reviewer in Kirkus Reviews described the book, calling the text “lyrical” and “poetic” even though it does not rhyme. “Don’t sleep on this bedtime book” was the review’s recommendation.
A fresh tale is put forth by Atinuke and Brooksbank in Catch That Chicken! Young Lami is a Nigerian girl with beaded braids and a great knack for catching chickens. All her family and friends admire her skill, which is put to the test when a black-and-white hen eludes her by scaling a baobab tree. With elders offering sage advice, Lami overcomes a daunting setback to prove her merit in the end. A Publishers Weekly reviewer lauds how the book features “a strong girl of color and offers a look at life in a close-knit community, a setting in which every gift contributes to the whole.” A Kirkus Reviews writer called Catch That Chicken! a “fun-filled, culturally rich tale that will delight readers young and older.”
Atinuke’s 2021 picture book Hugo features a pigeon who enjoys taking care of a park as well as the people who visit it. There is one neighbor, however, who hides herself away, and Hugo takes it upon himself to coax her into the park. Birgitta Sif’s illustrations use pastel colors and soft lines to convey the atmosphere of the park and the people who come together there. A reviewer in Kirkus Reviews praised Atinuke for the story’s “engaging storytelling” that provides Hugo “a personality, voice, and purpose that young readers will latch onto.” It also praised Sif’s drawings that “capture a changing environment filled with diverse personalities.” A reviewer in Publishers Weekly noted that this is a “character-driven tale” where the drawings are “loosely sketched” and “atmospheric.”
Atinuke made her first foray into nonfiction with Africa, Amazing Africa, a book aimed at elementary readers that celebrates all fifty-five countries on the continent. The text explores both the traditional and modern elements in the various countries along with their geography, history, culture, and animals. Colorful illustrations by Mouni Feddag help hold the reader’s interest, as do various bullet points that highlight everything from mythology to sports and games. Elizabeth Giles, in School Library Journal, praised the book for being “accessible and engaging” as well as “nuanced,” avoiding the extremes that too often characterize writing about Africa. She noted that the book will “delight curious browsers with its joyful, energetic illustrations and appealing assortment of trivia.” A reviewer in Kirkus Reviews was even more enthusiastic, calling the book a “loving tribute” that is “absolutely dazzling.” They called Atinuke’s text “lively and engaging” and makes Africa “exciting to explore.”
Keeping the focus on Africa, Atinuke began a new early reader fiction series around the character of Tola, who must learn that she does not have to be big to stand out. Set in the city of Lagos, Nigeria, where Atinuke grew up, Too Small Tola features three stories with Tola. She lives in an apartment with her older sister and brother and a grandmother. Tola’s achievements involve bringing water from a well and helping the local tailor. Onyinye Iwu provides the grayscale illustrations. A review in Publishers Weekly praised Atinuke and Iwu for how they “celebrate the daily life through Tola’s joy, wonder, and perseverance.” The review particularly emphasized how the stories “affirm the value of community care.” A reviewer in Kirkus Reviews called the book “an enjoyable, endearing collection” that is “perfect for transitioning readers.” It praised the “wry sense of humor” and the relationships that help readers feel connected no matter how unfamiliar they are with Lagos.
Too Small Tola and the Three Fine Girls provides another trio of stories with the titular character, her family, and their Lagos apartment. This time Tola gets to show off her math skills and realizes she is just as capable as the three older girls she admires. Iwu returns with black-and-white illustrations. Elena Schuck, writing in School Library Journal, called this outing a “pleasant new installment.” She noted that readers will become more familiar with Nigerian culture and that some Nigerian vocabulary is used. A review in Kirkus Reviews described the “great warmth and familial love despite the characters’ tenuous circumstances.” It also praised the illustrations for being “full of whimsy.”
Discussing the relationship between the oral storytelling tradition and her own literary efforts, Atinuke told blogger Deborah Kalb, “I have been telling traditional oral African stories for … years now and undoubtedly they influence my work as an author—and that’s a great thing! Some of the stories I tell are more than 5,000 years old, created by unknown geniuses and honed and perfected by generations of excellent storytellers. They teach me a lot about life—and I like to think that they make me a better writer too!”
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The series continues in the third book, Too Small Tola Gets Tough, illustrated by Onyinye Iwu, in which a global pandemic upends normal life in Lagos. Tola is happy living in her apartment with her Grandmommy, older sister Moji who goes to school, and teenage brother Dapo who works as a mechanic. But then a virus sweeps the world and Lagos is locked down. Moji goes to live with her teacher so she can continue her studies, and Dapo stays at the garage. To earn money for the family, Tola lives with a wealthy family and works as a house girl where she impresses everyone with her math skills. Writing in Kirkus Reviews, a critic said: “The author empathetically portrays the harsh reality some populations faced during quarantine, along with the disparity between wealthy and low-income people.”
Atinuke again teamed up with illustrator Brooksbank to teach children letters in the picture book L Is for Love. As a family strolls through the streets of Lagos selling lemons, they teach children other L words, like Lagos, lamp, lips, lunch, leaving when family members depart, lucky at catching the bus, lift to get into the bus, late for relatives who arrive later, animals like lazy lions and lonely leopard, and of course love for family. “Though the writing is spare, it exudes pure joy: Love is the focus throughout and an L word worth cherishing,” declared a Kirkus Reviews contributor. In Publishers Weekly, a reviewer said: “It’s a family portrait that underscores rich relationships surrounded by the natural world.”
Atinuke wrote and Lauren Hinds illustrated 100 Goats and Granny! about and old woman who collects more and more goats. Brown goats, gray goats, white goats. The local children follow Granny as the goats follow her, causing chaos at the salon, riding the bus, stopping traffic, and eating panties off the clothesline, all the while Granny admonishes people who scare her goats. Some goats even go missing. The goats aren’t the only ones causing mischief as Granny joins in. Readers immerse themselves “in the bustle of a verdant, tight-knit neighborhood and its abiding affection for an indomitable matriarch,” according to a reviewer in Publishers Weekly.
In an interview online at Settle Stories, Atinuke explained: “The most rewarding aspect of being a children’s storyteller is when I meet someone who has read my books – or heard my stories – and felt their life or mood changed for the better when they have been comforted or cheered up or laughed or felt prouder. It helps me feel that I am doing something to make the world a better place.”
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BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, October 1, 2011, Hazel Rochman, review of The No. 1 Car Spotter, p. 92; December 15, 2021, Kay Weisnman, review of Baby, Sleepy Baby, p. 99.
Horn Book, May-June, 2011, Robin L. Smith, reviews of Good Luck, Anna Hibiscus! and Have Fun, Anna Hibiscus!, both p. 80; November-December, 2011, Robin L. Smith, review of Anna Hibiscus’ Song, p. 77, and The No. 1 Car Spotter, p. 92; November-December, 2013, Julie Roach, review of Splash, Anna Hibiscus!, p. 71; September-October, 2015, Megan Dowd Lambert. review of Double Trouble for Anna Hibiscus!, p. 73; November-December, 2017, Megan Dowd Lambert, reviews of You’re Amazing, Anna Hibiscus, Love from Ann Hibiscus, Welcome Home, Anna Hibiscus, and Go Well, Anna Hibiscus, p. 93; May-June, 2019, Susan Dove Lempke, review of B Is for Baby, p. 120.
Kirkus Reviews, August 1, 2010, reviews of Anna Hibiscus and Hooray for Anna Hibiscus!; February 15, 2011, reviews of Have Fun, Anna Hibiscus! and Good Luck, Anna Hibiscus!; August 1, 2011, reviews of Anna Hibiscus’ Song and The No. 1 Car Spotter; July 15, 2013, review of Splash, Anna Hibiscus!; June 1, 2015, review of Double Trouble for Anna Hibiscus!; July 15, 2017, reviews of You’re Amazing, Anna Hibiscus, Love from Ann Hibiscus, Welcome Home, Anna Hibiscus, and Go Well, Anna Hibiscus; September 1, 2017, review of Baby Goes to Market; September 1, 2017, review of Baby Goes to Market; January 15, 2019, review of B Is for Baby; April 15, 2020, review of Catch That Chicken!; February 1, 2021, review of Too Small Tola; April 15, 2021, review of Hugo; July 15, 2021, review of Baby, Sleepy Baby; October 15, 2021, review of Africa, Amazing Africa; September 1, 2022, review of Too Small Tola and the Three Fine Girls; October 15, 2024, review of L Is for Love; February 15, 2023, review of Too Small Tola Gets Tough.
Publishers Weekly, August 8, 2011, review of Anna Hibiscus’ Song, p. 44; May 18, 2020, review of Catch That Chicken!, p. 58; May 3, 2021, review of Hugo; November 24, 2021, review of Too Small Tola, p. 63; June 3, 2024, review of L Is for Love, p. 106; February 10, 2025, review of 100 Goats and Granny!, p. 46.
School Library Journal, August, 2011, Nicole Waskie-Laura, reviews of Have Fun, Anna Hibiscus! and Good Luck, Anna Hibiscus!, both p. 67; October, 2011, Margaret R. Tassia, review of Anna Hibiscus’ Song, p. 100; January, 2013, Lonna Pierce, review of Anna Hibiscus, p. 60; February, 2013, Stacy Dillon, review of The No. 1 Car Spotter and the Firebird, p. 70; June, 2013, Jenny Ventling, review of Hooray for Anna Hibiscus!, p. 58; July, 2013, Terri Perper, review of Good Luck, Anna Hibiscus!, p. 49; October, 2013, Cheryl Preisendorfer, review of Have Fun, Anna Hibiscus!, p. 54; January, 2014, Catherine Callegari, review of Splash, Anna Hibiscus!, p. 63; July, 2015, Anna Haase Krueger, review of Double Trouble for Anna Hibiscus!, p. 58; October, 2021, Elizabeth Giles, review of Africa, Amazing Africa, p. 99; September, 2022, Elena Schuck, review of Too Small Tola and the Three Fine Girls, p. 106.
ONLINE
Atinuke website, http://atinuke-author.weebly.com (September 25, 2020).
Awfully Big Blog Adventure, http://awfullybigreviews.blogspot.com/ (April 9, 2012), John Dougherty, review of The No. 1 Car Spotter.
Book Q&As with Deborah Kalb, http://deborahkalbbooks.blogspot.com/ (August 28, 2016), author Q&A; (October 30, 2017), author Q&A; (February 20, 2019), author Q&A.
Little Box of Books, https://littleboxofbooks.co.uk (January 13, 2022), author interview.
Loft, https://loft.org (March 10, 2023), author profile.
Nation, http://www.thenationonlineng.net/ (March 14, 2012), Evelyn Osagie, author interview.
Playing by the Book, http://www.playingbythebook.net/ (December 13, 2011), author interview.
School Library Journal, http://blog.schoollibraryjournal.com/afuse8production/ (August 11, 2010), Elizabeth Bird, reviews of Anna Hibiscus and Hooray for Anna Hibiscus!; (August 20, 2011) Elizabeth Bird, review of The No. 1 Car Spotter.
Settle Stories, https://settlestories.org.uk/ (May 1, 2025), “Interview with Children’s Story Competition Judge Atinuke.”
Walker Books website, http://www.walker.co.uk/ (October 15, 2016), autobiographical essay by Atinuke.
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Atinuke
Born Ibadan, Nigeria
Occupation
AuthorOral Storyteller
Children 2
Website
atinuke.co.uk
Atinuke is a Nigerian-born author of children's books and an oral storyteller of traditional African folktales.[1]
Personal life and education
Atinuke was born in Ibadan and grew up in Lagos, Nigeria with her parents and three siblings.[2] Her father was a Nigerian university lecturer and her mother was an English editor.[2] Atinuke is of Yoruba ancestry through her father.[3][4]
Atinuke chose to attend a boarding school in England from ages ten to thirteen.[3] Her parents and three siblings then moved to England, and Atinuke began attending public school.[citation needed]
in university, Atinuke studied English and Commonwealth Literatures.[3]
She has two sons[5] and currently lives in Wales.[3][6]
Career
Atinuke's first story was told to an audience in England in 1990, when the booked performer didn't show.[citation needed] She embarked on a creative journey and professional career of collecting stories from Africa and the African diaspora and telling them to local and international audiences, at festivals and schools.[citation needed] When she took a break from travelling in 2005 due to illness,[citation needed] she began writing her first book, about fictional character Anna Hibiscus, a young girl living in "Amazing Africa". Atinuke is the author of over 20 children's books based on her life in Nigeria and the traditional stories. Most recently she published a non-fiction children's book about the 55 countries of Africa. Her book "Baby Goes To Market" is published in the US and UK as well as in French and Japanese.[7]
Awards and honours
The African American Literature Book Club named Atinuke in their list of the "Top 100 Bestselling Authors" in the 60th place.[8]
In 2011, Good Luck, Anna Hibiscus! was named one of the best children's books of the year by The Horn Book Magazine.[9]
In 2015, Double Trouble for Anna Hibiscus was named one of the best children's and young adult books of the year by Shelf Awareness.[10]
In 2017, You’re Amazing, Anna Hibiscus! was included on Kirkus Reviews' "Best Books for Middle Graders of 2017" list.[11]
In 2018, Baby Goes to Market was included on the Children's Africana Book Awards' "Best Books for Young Children" list.[12]
In 2021, Too Small Tola was named one of the best children's books of the year by The Horn Book Magazine, School Library Journal and Shelf Awareness [13][14][15]
In 2022, Too Small Tola and the Three Fine Girls was named one of the best children's books of the year by The Horn Book Magazine.[16]
Awards for Atinuke's writing
Year Title Award Result Ref.
2010 Anna Hibiscus Cybils Award for Short Chapter Books Finalists [17]
2011 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction Honor [18]
Have Fun, Anna Hibiscus! Cybils Award for Short Chapter Books Winner [19]
2012 Good Luck, Anna Hibiscus! Mind the Gap Awards: Better luck next time Winner [20]
2013 The No. 1 Car Spotter and the Firebird Carnegie Medal Nominee
2014 Hooray for Anna Hibiscus! Audie Award for Children's Titles Ages Up to 8 Winner [21][22]
2018 Baby Goes to Market ALSC Notable Children's Books Selection [23]
Charlotte Zolotow Award Honor [24]
Mathical Book Prize: Pre-K Winner [25]
2020 Africa, Amazing Africa School Library Association Information Book Award for Ages 8 to 12 years Shortlist [26]
B Is for Baby ALSC Notable Children's Books Selection [27]
Carnegie Medal Longlist [28]
2021 Too Small Tola Cybils Award for Easy Chapter Books Finalist [29]
Jhalak Prize for Children YA Longlist
2022 ALSC Notable Children's Books Selection [30]
Publications
Fiction
Anna Hibiscus series
The Anna Hibiscus series is illustrated by Lauren Tobia
Anna Hibiscus (2010)
Hooray for Anna Hibiscus! (2010)
Have Fun, Anna Hibiscus! (2011)
Welcome Home, Anna Hibiscus! (2012)
Go Well, Anna Hibiscus! (2014)
Love from Anna Hibiscus! (2015)
You're Amazing, Anna Hibiscus! (2016)
Merry Christmas, Anna Hibiscus! (2023)
Anna Hibiscus picture books
Anna Hibiscus' Song (2012)
Splash, Anna Hibiscus! (2014)
Double Trouble For Anna Hibiscus! (2015)
Baby series
The Baby series is illustrated by Angela Brooksbank.
Baby Goes to Market, (2017)
B Is for Baby (2019)
Baby, Sleepy Baby (2021)
The No. 1 Car Spotter series
The No. 1 Car Spotter series is illustrated by Warwick Johnson-Cadwell.
The No. 1 Car Spotter (2011)
The No. 1 Car Spotter and the Firebird (2011)
The No. 1 Car Spotter and the Car Thieves (2012)
The No. 1 Car Spotter Goes to School (2014)
The No. 1 Car Spotter and the Broken Road (2015)
The No. 1 Car Spotter Fights the Factory (2016)
Too Small Tola series
The Too Small Tola series is illustrated by Onyinye Iwu.
Too Small Tola (2020)
Too Small Tola and the Three Fine Girls (2021)
Too Small Tola Gets Tough (2023)
Standalone books
Catch That Chicken!, illustrated by Angela Brooksbank (2020)
Hugo, illustrated by Birgitta Sif (2020)
Brilliant Black British History (expected 2023)
Non-Fiction
Africa Amazing Africa: Country by Country, illustrated by Mouni Feddag (2019)
About me
I was lucky enough to be born in the awesome, inspiring country of Nigeria.
My father is a Nigerian university professor. My mother a white English author and editor. We lived first in the city of Ibadan, surrounded by my father’s extended family. And then in the megacity of Lagos where my three siblings came along.
I have wanted to be an author from the age of 5. Right through my childhood books were my comfort and escape. When I ran out of books to read I made up stories in my head.
The books I read led to some of my biggest decisions – at 10 I chose to go to boarding school in England – led astray by “Malory Towers”! At 13 my mother and siblings joined me in the UK. We travelled home to Nigeria in the school holidays – and since then I have had one foot (sometimes more, sometimes less) in each country.
I studied English and Commonwealth Literatures at university, and afterwards I travelled – filling notebook after notebook with my scribbles. Then I fell in love with the art of oral storytelling – after being cajoled into telling a Nigerian folktale on a festival stage.
Since then – for the last 20 years – I’ve told stories from the African continent & diaspora to adults and children in schools, festivals & theatres all over the world. Children in the West constantly asked me what it was like growing up on the African continent – they imagined it was full of safari animals and poverty. My first book – Anna Hibiscus – was my reply.
The best-selling “Anna Hibiscus” series is about a girl from a rich (in-many-ways) family growing up in an African megacity –a city inspired by the city I grew up in, Lagos.
“The No.1 Car Spotter” series, which followed Anna, is about a boy from a poor (in-money-only) family living in a village – inspired by my childhood visits to my father’s home village.
My third series “Too Small Tola” is set back in the megacity of Lagos, Nigeria – but this time the heroine is from a poor (in-money-only) family.
I write picture books too. It is perhaps my favourite genre –action, humour, suspense & surprise – all in 500 words!
My first information book – “Africa, Amazing Africa” – is a love letter to my fatherland. My second non-fiction book – “Brilliant Black British History” (due to be published in 2023) – is a celebration of the history of my motherland.
I’ve now written over 20 children’s books – almost all set in Nigeria. You can peep into all my books on the Books page…
Now I live in Wales where I swim in cold seas & stomp along wild footpaths … loving where I am, and also longing and plotting for the day when I can return to the continent of my birth.
Interview with Children’s Story Competition Judge Atinuke
Atinuke is an award-winning children’s author and traditional oral storyteller who is this year’s Children’s Story Competition Judge. Kaden James recently caught up with Atinuke to talk about the YFOS Children’s Story Competition, the inspiration behind her own books and her experience as a storyteller.
Click here to access the Festival Living Room 2 where Atinuke will be announcing the winners and runners-up of the competition.
You can find Atinuke’s books at our online bookshop here, as well as our in-person festival bookshop.
You are going to be judging the YFOS Children’s Story Competition. What excites you most about this and what will you be looking for?
I am so looking forward to reading the children’s stories. I am looking for something unexpected and something that moves me – to laughter or to tears.
The theme of this year’s short story contest (‘a day that changed the world’) opens up conversations about the power of stories and their ability to change the world for the better. Can you explain how stories can have the power to influence change?
I remember once meeting a man who had been ashamed of his childhood because it was poor and he did not even go to school. Then his kids read my “No.1 Car Spotter” books. The No.1 Car Spotter is a boy who lives in poverty and who does not go to school, but his life is full of fun and freedom and adventure. And this man’s kids loved the books. So he decided to tell them about his own childhood – herding camels in the desert. They loved hearing about it and thought it was really cool. The man’s shame disappeared. That is an example of how the power of stories can change things.
What is the most rewarding aspect of being a children’s storyteller, and why do you think storytelling is essential for young minds?
The most rewarding aspect of being a children’s storyteller is when I meet someone who has read my books – or heard my stories – and felt their life or mood changed for the better when they have been comforted or cheered up or laughed or felt prouder. It helps me feel that I am doing something to make the world a better place.
Your Anna Hibiscus series is beloved by many children. What was the inspiration behind creating this character, and what messages do you hope young readers take away from her adventures?
In the Anna Hibiscus stories I wanted to share with children what my own childhood was like on the African continent. And I hope that children all over the world enjoy spending time in her world and come away knowing how amazing Africa is.
Can you share some of your favourite childhood stories or storytellers who influenced your own storytelling style?
I was very influenced by my father’s traditional storytelling style. And also by the English author Joyce Lankester Brisley who wrote the Milly Molly Mandy stories which I read over and over again as a little girl.
Do you have any memorable or heartwarming anecdotes of interactions with young readers who have been touched by your stories?
Once a girl at a book festival in Kenya stood up and said, “Thank you for writing your books. Thank you for showing the world that we are important too”. There were about 700 children in the audience and they all stood up and clapped. It was a very moving moment for me because I remember being that age and thinking that people like me were not important because I had no books with anyone like me in them!
You are also going to be introducing yourself and your book, Brilliant Black British History, to children in KS2 on 18th October via Stories for School. What can you tell me about this event and book? What would you like people to know?
I am so looking forward to this event! I am going to be telling a short version of the book to the children. The short version of 12,000 years of Black British history! I hope children will come away knowing that there have always been black and brown children in Britain.
What upcoming projects or books can readers and fans look forward to from you?
I have a new series that starts next year called “Beti and the Little Round House”. I am very excited about this book – Beti is a cute and feisty character, the illustrations are soooo beautiful, and it is set in wild Wales where I live. There are also new picture books called “L is for Love” and “M is for Mango” coming out soon. And one day there will be more books in the “Too Small Tola” series.
Finally, what message would you like to give to children and young people who love and are interested in storytelling?
Stories are the best thing! Join a library so you can read as much as you can for free. See you if can find any real storytellers who tell stories out of their heads. And if you want to write – just do – write and write and write again – it’s the only way of getting good!
Click here to access the Festival Living Room 2 where Atinuke will be announcing the winners and runners-up of the competition.
You can find Atinuke’s books at our online bookshop here, as well as our in-person festival bookshop.
Nigerian Author Atinuke Wins the 2024 British Book Awards for Children’s Nonfiction
by Kuhelika Ghosh
May 15, 2024
Nigerian-born author Atinuke has won the 2024 British Book Awards in the Children’s Nonfiction Category for Brilliant Black History. Illustrated by Kingsley Nebechi, the book opens young children’s eyes to Black British history.
The British Book Awards aka ‘the Nibbies’ has been the leading awards for the book trade since 1990. The awards affirm, connect and energise all who have a hand in creating books and all who read them, by showcasing the authors and illustrators who have stirred our hearts and imaginations, and the industry behind the scenes who have brought them to readers. This year’s ceremony was held at Grosvenor House in London.
The Children’s Non-Fiction award went to Brilliant Black British History (Bloomsbury Children’s Books) by Atinuke, illustrated by Kingsley Nebechi. The book focuses on a part of British past that has mostly been left out of the history books: the brilliant Black history of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.
Covering a range of topics from science and sport to literature and law, Atinuke celebrates the brilliant Black people who have helped build Britain. Children can learn about key historical topics such as the world wars, slavery, the industrial revolution, Windrush, and the Black Lives Matter movement, among others. Read the full synopsis below:
Did you know that the first Britons were Black? Or that some of the Roman soldiers who invaded and ruled Britain were Black, too? Join this fascinating journey through the ages to meet those first Britons, as well as the Black Tudors, Georgians and Victorians who existed in every walk of life here. The incredible journey through time is brought to life through Atinuke’s fascinating storytelling and illustrated scenes, detailed maps, and timelines created by illustrator Kingsley Nebechi.
A vital exploration of Black British history, the judges praised its accessibility and appeal to children of all ages.As the second Book of the Year win for Bloomsbury Children’s Books, Atinuke’s book prevailed over Adam Kay’s hugely popular Kay’s Incredible Inventions (Puffin).
Atinuke is a Nigerian-born author of children’s books and an oral storyteller of traditional African folktales. She is an award-winning author of over 20 children’s books based on her life in Nigeria and other African stories. In 2017, You’re Amazing, Anna Hibiscus! was included on Kirkus Reviews’ “Best Books for Middle Graders of 2017” list; in 2018, Baby Goes to Market was included on the Children’s Africana Book Awards’ “Best Books for Young Children” list; and in 2021, Too Small Tola was named one of the best children’s books of the year by The Horn Book Magazine, School Library Journal, and Shelf Awareness.
Congrats to Atinuke on this well-deserved win!
100 Goats and Granny!
Atinuke, illus. by Lauren Hinds. Candlewick, $18.99 (40p)
ISBN 978-1-5362-3876-1
Keeping track of Granny's many, many goats is a group of local children's favorite pastime--though the incorrigible animals make it no easy feat. In rollicking, rhythmic prose, Atinuke (L Is for Love) gleefully tots up the goats by groups of 10, while recounting their mischief making, which ranges from interrupting Granny's phone calls to eating the aunties' panties right off the clothesline ("Once, the brown one stayed on the bus,/ beeping on the/ driver's horn!/ Then the gray stayed/ at the salon,/ and came out/ completely shorn!"). But when little goat 100 wanders into town, leaving havoc in its wake, Granny displays a fierce, unconditional love, admonishing a gathered crowd: "You scared my goat. You scared my goat.// You and you and you and you! You scared my goat!" Then life resets, though the final page reveals that Granny might be orchestrating some mischief herself. Hinds, making her picture book debut, employs naif-style gouache, colored pencil, and pen illustrations to immerse readers in the bustle of a verdant, tight-knit neighborhood and its abiding affection for an indomitable matriarch. Human characters are portrayed with brown skin. Ages 3-7. (May)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2025 PWxyz, LLC
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"100 Goats and Granny!" Publishers Weekly, vol. 272, no. 6, 10 Feb. 2025, p. 46. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A828300584/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=5ed1e3b0. Accessed 20 Mar. 2025.
L Is for Love
Atinuke, illus. by Angela Brooksbank.
Candlewick, $17.99 (40p)
ISBN 978-1-5362-3555-5
Atinuke and Brooksbank (Baby Goes to Market) reteam for an L-focused story about two adults and four children setting off to sell lemons, leaving two elders behind. In an opening scene ("L is for Leaving,/ L is for Linger"), the family members embrace one another, conveying abundant warmth. They get ready while it's still dark, and after a mishap, catch an unplanned ride in a red bus ("L is for Lift./L is for Lucky"). Throughout, repeating L sounds provide a continuo that grounds the scenery they pass through. At last, they arrive, and "L is for LAGOS!" A magnificent spread pulses with the life of the market as stalls crowd sidewalks and buses snake through streets. Lemons are sold and lunch is eaten before the family makes its way home, this time on foot, arriving at last in the arms of its waiting members ("L is for Late,/ and L is for...// Love!"). It's a family portrait that underscores rich relationships surrounded by the natural world. Ages 3-7. (Sept.)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 PWxyz, LLC
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"L Is for Love." Publishers Weekly, vol. 271, no. 22, 3 June 2024, p. 106. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A800536300/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=041a42c2. Accessed 20 Mar. 2025.
Atinuke L IS FOR LOVE Candlewick (Children's None) $17.99 9, 3 ISBN: 9781536235555
An alliterative lesson in love, highlighting the 12th letter of the alphabet.
This slice-of-life tale follows a family of Nigerian farmers as they haul their fruit from the lemon groves to the big city of Lagos. The text consists solely of "L is for " sentences, and the letterLdoes a lot of heavy lifting in describing a world so large and dynamic, from the family's nighttime journey through the trees ("L is for Lamp") to the truck that gives them a ride ("L is for Lift. L is for Lucky"). Atinuke and Brooksbank home in on key details: the crack of lightning across the sky, the "lazy lions" and "lonely leopard" on the savanna, the children playing in a market filled with fabrics. At last, a morning of lemon selling gives way to lunch ("L is for Lick. L is for Lips"), and soon the family starts their long journey back home, past a herd of roaming elephants and through the winding paths beneath the lemon trees. Though the writing is spare, it exudes pure joy: Love is the focus throughout and anLword worth cherishing. Making rich use of textures, the mixed-media art highlights the family's affection for one another and for their home and their work; each spread is rife with detail, telling a story all its own.
Luminous illustrations and lively text make for lovely reading.(Picture book. 4-8)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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"Atinuke: L IS FOR LOVE." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Oct. 2024. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A811898374/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=5b9e81ab. Accessed 20 Mar. 2025.
Beti and the Little Round House
Atinuke, illus. by Emily Hughes. Candlewick, $18.99 (128p) ISBN 978-1-5362-2518-1
Atinuke (L Is for Love) draws from her experiences having moved from a "mansion" in Lagos to Wales, where she lived with her son in a "roundhouse built of straw and clay in the woods," to showcase a life lived "simply on the land" in four gentle tales, which read like a cozy hug. Young Beti lives with her family in their "little round house," which her parents built deep in the forest. She relishes the beauty of her surroundings; the creator brings to life the sights, sounds, tastes, and smells of Beti's world via lush and luminous storytelling. Starting with her birthday--during which Beti is given a goat named Naughty, who lives up to its name when it ruins her celebratory cake--the connected stories introduce the girl's vibrantly depicted community and detail Beti's penchant to turn ordinary outings like filling a jar for the family's daily water supply into epic adventures. Illustrations rendered in muted pastels by Hughes (The Crafted World of Wharton Esherick) mirror the cheerful warmth of the stories; characters have varying skin tones. Ages 7-9. (Oct.)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
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"Beti and the Little Round House." Publishers Weekly, vol. 271, no. 29, 29 July 2024, p. 64. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A803782877/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=6db93a38. Accessed 20 Mar. 2025.
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Atinuke TOO SMALL TOLA GETS TOUGH Candlewick (Children's None) $15.99 3, 21 ISBN: 978-1-5362-2946-2
A young Nigerian girl grapples with the impact of a global pandemic.
While the run-down apartments Tola lives in may not look like much, they are home to her family--Grandmommy, brother Dapo, and sister Moji. Dapo, 15, has a job as a mechanic that brings in so much money that Grandmommy doesn't have to sell groundnuts anymore. Moji is focused on the assignments she has to complete for her fancy school, while Tola is excited to show off her excellent math skills now that she attends school, too. Then an unexpected sickness sweeps the globe. Initially, Tola and her community believe it won't reach them, but then things shut down. Moji's teacher invites her to stay at her home so that she may continue her education during the lockdown. Then Dapo's employer sends for him so that he can continue earning money. Finally, Tola and Grandmommy are left alone, but supplies are running low. Tola begins work as a house girl for a notable Nigerian family, whom she unexpectedly helps by using her impressive math abilities. Each new chapter begins with a brief summary of what came before, bridging the tales into a cohesive unit. The author empathetically portrays the harsh reality some populations faced during quarantine, along with the disparity between wealthy and low-income people, in a way that will be manageable for young readers. The plain language and realistic illustrations convey a whirlwind of emotions.
Remarkable and timely. (Fiction. 7-9)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2023 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Atinuke: TOO SMALL TOLA GETS TOUGH." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Feb. 2023. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A736805876/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=b3f5fe6d. Accessed 20 Mar. 2025.
ATINUKE. Too Small Tola and the Three Fine Girls. illus. by Onyinye Iwu. 96p. Candlewick. Sept. 2022. Tr $15.99. ISBN 9781536225174.
Gr 2-4--It can be a challenge being the youngest of three; luckily Tola has enough spunk and ingenuity to face any problem that comes her way. Tola lives with her older sister, Moji; brother, Dapo; and grandmother in Lagos, Nigeria. This title features three chapters with Tola working through three separate problems. In the first story, Dapo decides to play soccer inside, which is against the rules. The ball gets out of control, causing Grandma's earrings--family heirlooms--to go missing; the kids are terrified that they are lost forever. When Grandma gets too sick to work in the second story, the children have to figure out a way to collaborate so they can support the family. Tola, in the final tale, becomes jealous of children in her town who are more affluent and learns an important lesson about herself and what is important in her life. Elementary readers will relate to Tola's interactions with her family as they learn about Nigerian culture. Black-and-white illustrations add to the story and will aid readers in comprehension. The impact of sibling conflicts will ring true with many. The moral of each tale is obvious, the endings can be pat, yet beginning readers will be relieved and happy for Tola's sake. Some Nigerian vocabulary is used, but not all is defined. This is an entertaining tale about detennination and family. VERDICT A good choice for fans of the author's previous "Tola" titles; readers will not be disappointed with this pleasant new installment.--Elena Schuck
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2022 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Schuck, Elena. "ATINUKE. Too Small Tola and the Three Fine Girls." School Library Journal, vol. 68, no. 9, Sept. 2022, p. 106. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A715572390/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=abeb88fc. Accessed 20 Mar. 2025.