I’ll See You in Ijebu by Bunmi Emananjo illustrated by Dian Ejaita
As a window into Nigerian life, this 32 page book is beautiful, celebratory, and an incredible resource to learn from and emerge yourself in, as the beautiful pages, and delightful language sweeps you away to Ijebu and Olu’s grandparent’s house for Eid al Adha. As a Muslim, this book’s framing might require some conversation with little ones that may or may not be right for your family. The protagonist in the book, Olu, is Catholic, her siblings and parents are as well, her mother’s family however, is Muslim. The multi-faith family celebrate each others’ holidays, for example Olu goes to the mosque to pray after taking communion at church, and the cousins haven’t seen each other since they came to Lagos to celebrate Christmas. Eid al Adha is celebrated with a big meal, prayers, and being together, but nothing specific about belief or doctrine is included in the text. The tender heart of the story is the subtle bond between Olu and her grandfather, Baba, even though language differences prevent them from talking. The writing style is as beautiful as the full page illustrations, with part of each page dedicated to more traditional story telling, and another complimentary part expressed in a more lyrical fashion that reads often like a song. The backmatter is robust with information about Nigeria (including a map), Food, Fun, Faith and Family, Oriki, Fashion, an Author’s Note, a recipe for Puff Puff, an Illustrator’s Note, and a list of people who helped create the book. The book is OWN voice written and illustrated, but I do not think either are Muslim, and while the publisher lists the book as being for ages 4-10, it is a bit text heavy, so take that into consideration.
The book starts with Mummy calling Olu and her brothers for breakfast. Daddy is in America at their old home visiting his brother, and today they are going to Ijebu to visit Baba and Iya Akin for Eid. This year Olu is eight and will finally get to help make the Sallah feast. The traffic is bad in the hot weather, with smells of vendors cooking filling the air. The family listens to Afrobeats and 90s pop music until they are finally there. When they arrive Baba is waiting and sings Olu’s oriki as they embrace. Food is a big part of visits to Ijebu, as they pick ripe cashews, sugar cane, guavas, and mangoes on Baba’s farm.
When it is finally Eid the family walks to the nearby mosque for prayers in matching outfits. Then it is time to cook the two rams for the Eid feast. Olu is going to braid the ram intestines. It is a lot to cook and a lot to eat. When the week is over, and it is time to leave, once again it is Olu and Baba’s hug that make the love tangible and the book emotional as they say their wordless goodbye.
