Coloring Book - The Tortoise and The Toad: Ijapa ati Akere (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780999703014)

Even though she was raised in Lagos, Nigeria, Dr. Ololade (Lola) Okubena considers herself to be a "citizen of the world." Surrounded by books in her parent's house, she started to read at an early age and developed a lifelong fascination for the people and cultures of other countries. After she received her medical degree, her work took her out of Nigeria, and thus began her worldwide journey to explore the languages, religions, foods, customs, and day-to-day lives of the people she had read about when she was a child. Dr. Ololade is also passionate about passing on, from one generation to the next, the spoken and written language of the Yoruba people of Nigeria. She fondly remembers how her father told stories to his children in the moonlight, with the sounds of chirping crickets and other night creatures in the background. Her folk tales are told in a way that Nigerian children can relate to. The colorful characters wear hats, wooden bead necklaces, dashikis, and other items that reinforce the traditions of the Yoruba people. They also have distinct personalities, with all of the faults and attributes that are shown by human beings. Dr. Okubena's books have been printed in English, Yoruba, Igbo, and Hausa, with additional Talking Pen translations in Spanish, French, German, Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, and Ijebu. She is continually challenged and inspired to keep Yoruba alive by her daughters, Kiki and Idara, and by her desire to preserve the beauty and uniqueness of the Yoruba language and culture.