Njinga of Ndongo and Matamba: A Book Review

Happy Children’s Book Week!

What better time to do a Children’s book review than this week? I decided that, hard as it may be, I am going to do my best to build a diverse and inclusive library for my daughter. As I do, I will pick from some of the books I come across and like and review them for you here.

We do not have much African children’s literature let alone reviews of whatever is out there. I have decided to fill that gap for other parents like me.

Njinga of Ndongo and Matombe tells us the story of Queen Njinga from what we now know as Angola. It takes us from birth through to her death. Before this I had heard of the Queen and her deeds but did not have a lot to go by.

Things I loved about this book:

1.Can I just say l loved the illustrations in this book, I loved how they really look like real people from Africa. That warmed my heart. And that cover art♥️

2.I love how the author intentionally used phrases from a dying language through out the book. I also like that it wasnt too much (enough to learn a new word without distorting the story for non-speakers)

3.I love how mindful the author was not to overload information into the story. Kids will comprehend what they need to, keeping their minds engaged.

4.My daughter is 18 months so I read this story to her. Imagine my surprise when I came across the fact sheet at the back. Me being the curious being that I am this worked out perfect for me. I didn’t have ask Google more about Queen Njinga (I had every intention of asking once I was done). Everything was right there.

5.I also loved that it had a map with both present day countries and territories of old ruled by the Queen

Njinga of Ndongo and Matombe is a book by Ekiuwa Aire who wrote with hopes that her books will help kids develop an appreciation for African history, and to value the wisdom and pride that will come from this knowledge.

Ekiuwa also wrote Idia of the Benin Kingdom that I will also review in weeks to come. Both books are currently FREE on Amazon Kindle from May 4th – May 6th.