Historical Association Young Quills Competition 2024 Book Reviews
Tales of Ijapa the Tortoise
By Paula B. Sofowora (Ijapa Books)
I enjoyed reading “Tales of Ijapa the Tortoise” because it was fun. I liked Ijapa the most because he is funny. The elephant trick was the most funny. I liked that the stories all had a moral at the end of them. I think that other people would like this book because it teaches you about Africa. I also learned some new words like ‘bluff’ which means to trick someone. I also liked the comic, it was amazing!
Joseph
Dallas Road Community Primary School, Lancaster
This is a lovely book based on African Folk tales, with lovely illustrations by Lynda Ward.
Ijapa is an impulsive tortoise, who wants to make a good impression, but often gets it wrong! It makes him very lovable. All of his adventures have morals which you have to guess at the end.
Each story has its own glossary so you can learn some new words, and there are activities such as finding out about African culture, or hunting for words in the book, so it is educational as well as fun.
My favourite character is Elephant, because though he was greedy and silly, he learned his lesson in the end. There are lots of other lovable characters too, such as a hippo, a lion and Yannibo, Ijapa’s forgiving girlfriend.
I really enjoyed dipping into Ijapa’s exciting and colourful world, and I liked reading characters that African children read about. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves the animals of Africa.
Ijapa is an impulsive tortoise, who wants to make a good impression, but often gets it wrong! It makes him very lovable. All of his adventures have morals which you have to guess at the end.
Each story has its own glossary so you can learn some new words, and there are activities such as finding out about African culture, or hunting for words in the book, so it is educational as well as fun.
My favourite character is Elephant, because though he was greedy and silly, he learned his lesson in the end. There are lots of other lovable characters too, such as a hippo, a lion and Yannibo, Ijapa’s forgiving girlfriend.
I really enjoyed dipping into Ijapa’s exciting and colourful world, and I liked reading characters that African children read about. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves the animals of Africa.
Georgia
Mordiford CE Primary School Hereford
Ijapa’s Comic Club: Why the Tortoise is Bald
By Paula B. Sofowora (Ijapa Books)
I liked the African Folktale Why the Tortoise is Bald because it made me laugh but it also had a moral. The main character is called Ijapa, he is a trickster and was always getting up to mischief.
The plot was exiting, especially the part when Ijapa had to run home with the porridge under his hat! My favourite character was Yannibo who was engaged to marry Ijapa, I liked the illustration of her character.
I really liked the ending because I discovered that Ijapa had gone bald because of the hot porridge on his head. This tale helps us to think about not being impatient or greedy.
I also thought it was a great idea to include activities such as word searches at the back of the book, it made me think a bit more about the tale and the characters in it.
I would definitely recommend this book to a friend.
The plot was exiting, especially the part when Ijapa had to run home with the porridge under his hat! My favourite character was Yannibo who was engaged to marry Ijapa, I liked the illustration of her character.
I really liked the ending because I discovered that Ijapa had gone bald because of the hot porridge on his head. This tale helps us to think about not being impatient or greedy.
I also thought it was a great idea to include activities such as word searches at the back of the book, it made me think a bit more about the tale and the characters in it.
I would definitely recommend this book to a friend.
Esamae
St. Peter's CE Primary, Heysham
This book is set in Africa. It tells us all about African culture and family life. All of the stories have morals, such as don’t be greedy, or be patient – all lessons learned by Ijapa! For example, he learnt a huge lesson when the scorching hot yam porridge burnt his hair off! The main character is Ijapa (a friendly tortoise) and his fiancée Yannibo. Ijapa needs to meet Yannibo’s parents and want to make a good impressions, so he is a bit nervous!
All the characters in this book are so kind and friendly, and it was lovely when Yannibo’s mum gave Ijapa a great welcome. The story is told in a comic style which I liked, and the fantastic pictures kept me guessing about what was going to happen next.
I would recommend this book to my friends because they would love the parts about Ijapa being a trickster.
There are puzzles in this book, too – I particularly liked the word searches.
All the characters in this book are so kind and friendly, and it was lovely when Yannibo’s mum gave Ijapa a great welcome. The story is told in a comic style which I liked, and the fantastic pictures kept me guessing about what was going to happen next.
I would recommend this book to my friends because they would love the parts about Ijapa being a trickster.
There are puzzles in this book, too – I particularly liked the word searches.
Murray
Mordiford Primary School Hereford