Hello everyone! Welcome back to my blog. This post will be a bit different, as i’m reviewing a book. The book is called “Yetunde: An Ode to My Mother”, and the author is an African writer named Segilola Salami. The description of the book is below:
Description:
Follow Yetunde as she narrates her mother’s ode to her grandmother. It is the Yoruba praise poetry for a mother known as Oriki Iya. Yetunde is also thrilled and delighted by the ancient Yoruba tale passed down to her by her mother about Labakẹ, a young maiden who was kidnapped to be forced to marry a warrior king. Will Iya Labakẹ save her child in time? Is Iya Labakẹ just a simple defenceless mother? Or . . . ?
This is a short story dedicated to past, present and future mothers, a perfect Mother’s day present!
The book is mostly in English and all Yoruba words are translated, so everyone can enjoy the book fully.
Review:
As mentioned in the description, “Yetunde: An Ode to My Mother” is a book about an African mother of Yuroba heritage spending time with her daughter, and even telling her daughter a traditional Yuroba story. “Yetunde: An Ode to My Mother” is told through the eyes of the small baby daughter, who is relaying to the readers what she has learned from her mother. I’ve mentioned on my blog many times that I have a genetic disorder. I wasn’t diagnosed with the disorder until I was a teenager, but I always knew something was off. I was always small for my age. Due to my size, I was often bullied. The bullying made me feel low and unattractive, but when I would think those thoughts, I would always think of my mother’s words to me: “I have no ugly children”. Segilola’s book reminded me of own my mother and her words to me, and how much strength I get from them. “Yetunde: An Ode to My Mother” beautifully shows how we are shaped by the words of our parents, as the daughter takes in every word her mother, Yetunde, says. Over all, I really enjoyed “Yetunde: An Ode to My Mother”. I believe it is a beautiful way to learn about Yuroba culture. I highly recommend the book
If you would like to read the book for yourself, it is available on Segilola Salami’s website https://www.segilolapublishing.com/product-category/ebooks/childrens-ebooks-fiction/
Sagilola can also be found on her blog, where she shares reviews of children’s books. Click here to pay Segilola a visit.
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