Illustrated by Natasha Nayo
3 stars
It’s Kwame’s first year at Nkonyaa School, where children learn about their innate magic and how to use it with the help of magical calabashes. But when he arrives, his teachers can’t figure out the magic of his calabash.
A fun adventure inspired by Akan beliefs and practices. Mensah pulls in different aspects of Ghanaian and general African culture including Twi words as spells, Adinkra symbols, and the game, Oware.
I really enjoyed learning about the magic system in this book. Nicely-written with themes of friendship, bullying, and the stress of feeling like you don’t belong.
Engaging black-and-white illustrations help break up the text and pair well with the action of the story.
At the back are sections with information about Ghana and the Akan, how Mensah tied real-world elements into the magic system in the book, and reflection questions.
Nice start to a new series. This one sets up the magic system and introduces the series’ conflict. I definitively want to read the second book to see what happens next.