Selfless Love, Communal Living as Themes in the Children’s Book, ‘Strange Friends’

Yinka Olatunbosun

An unlikely friendship evolves in a fictitious animal kingdom. First, a lion is discovered by one hungry hyena. Later, they meet a dove. Together, they form a pack with a set of core values to guide their peaceful co-existence. The animal characters in the children’s book titled “Strange Friends” have societal archetypes when read with the Nigerian lens.
In this beautifully illustrated 25-paged book, the author Prince Chinweze Isaac tells a simple story of a food chain to teach young readers some valuable lessons in love, team spirit, selflessness and trust. Our world is characterised by selfishness. It’s not out of place for a socially relevant author to use his work to advance moral virtues such as love.

As a writer who promotes African heritage through his literature, the theme of communal living ignites the memory of traditional African setting. The plot of ‘Strange Friends’ thus teaches how an individual’s choices can be guided by internalised communal values which are the basis of African philosophy.

One may also classify the children’s book as a literary celebration of diversity. Situating a raven as a friend to a lion and a hyena draws attention to the nature of love- a charitable feeling towards another not necessarily of one’s kind. Through this animal story, the writer tears the wall of tribalism. Nigerian political space wears various tribal marks; hence the polity is often divided along ethnic lines.

If only selfless love can be the guiding principle in governance, then the quality of life of every Nigerian living in Nigeria would be markedly better than it is now. Nigerians only realise the trauma of being Nigerian when they travel outside the country and access public facilities maintained by the governments of these countries. Like the hyena in ‘Strange Friends’ did to the lion before he changed for good, corrupt politicians steal the wealth of the people and starve them of ‘basic amenities.’ But as the animals displayed in the book, peaceful coexistence is possible where selflessness exists.

Aside from the story, the book has colouring sections where children can engage with the visual images of the animal characters in the story. They can trace, paint or use crayons to colour the animals. Puzzles are also added for cognitive development.

The author is a graduate of public administration from the Imo State University, Nigeria. Born and bred in Lagos, his inspiration for children’s books came from his early childhood experience of reading and listening to African folk tales.

As a socially conscious writer, he observed the major challenge in his native country as well as humans in general – deep rooted on tribalism, ethnicity and race. These ills breed lack of trust and cooperation, which adversely affect collective growth. Being a father of two, he is determined to help nurture the next generation who are governed by selflessness.