An educationist, Dorcas Ikya, has tasked Nigerian authors with special interest in children’s books, to upgrade their work content in line with the current demands of the society.
Ikya, who is the founder of Tabitha Kids, a reading club and bookshop for children, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja that Nigerian children books were still far behind in content.
She explained that with the fast pace of the contemporary society, most authors were yet to give full attention to stories containing issues that today’s children could easily relate with.
Ikya said: “With the rise of fast paced society, I think the British and American children author’s have done a great job with elements of children books.
“Our Nigerian authors are coming up, although we still have a lot to do so as to catch up; we still have a lot of animal themed folktales and stories.
“This is against the stories relating to issues children can relate with more but our authors are coming up,” she said.
According to Ikya, the present children’s books should teach about present realities such as sex education among others, so that the children can be at par with their peers internationally.
”As books are a great avenue to teach and expose the minds of children, it will be good to have Nigerian themed books that can compete in the international market”.
Ikya’s Tabitha Kids has been instrumental to the development of reading culture among children, especially in Abuja.
The educationist said that she had observed a steady increase in parent’s interest in the reading habits of their children; especially the kind of books they read.
Ikya added that this had also increased participation in book clubs and book reading events by parents and children alike.
She stated that Tabitha Kids had continued to aid parents in getting access to the right kind of books for their children and also, help the children cultivate healthy reading habits.
