Really funny everyday adventures of a young African girl -- maybe a little too blue for American kids, but pretty hilarious and true to childhood -- the kids are always picking on each other, parasites are something you just pick up running around half naked, you have to try the things your parents tell you not to do in order to learn the lesson, wild animals will eat your poo. I think I learned most of these growing up in Texas in the 70s, come to think of it. ( )

Marguerite Abouet grew up in the port town of Abidjan in Ivory Coast. This graphic is a collection of 21 6-page comics about Akissi, the youngest sister, who always seems to get in trouble. She is especially troubling to her brother, Fofana, and his friends. It's refreshing to have stories written by the residents of former colonies. Two or three of the stories are hilarious, but the rest were only okay. I think I will try her Aya of Yop City series, which focus on Abouet's childhood there and are more adult. ( )

Graphic Novel
Middle Grade

(This is for the English version)
Super cute "slice-of-life" episodic strips of a little girl growing up in Ivory Coast. You don't have to be familiar with any of the characters, and none of the stories have a continuation. You can read from any point and enjoy.

SN: Akissi's brother is terribly mean, but Akissi is mad annoying (like most little sisters; I should know as I am one). ( )

Akissi, a young girl, somewhere between three to five years of age, exhibits all the typical behaviors of her age group. They’re humorous to the reader, but often infuriating to her family and the other inhabitants of her Côte d'Ivoire neighborhood. With her braids flying in the wind, she and her friends rush from one outrageous prank to another from feeding the neighbor’s infant some homemade stew made up of vegetables dropped on the ground of the outdoor market to bringing home a monkey for a pet. There’s some cosmic justice for feeding the baby market leftovers, because she later eats some herself, and becomes infected with tapeworms. But she makes the most of this unpleasantness by blowing a worm out her nose and chasing her older brother with it. This propensity for mischief manifests itself not only at home, but at school, at the dentist, in the movie theater, and on the bus on the way to and with her grandparents, and in the wild near the grandparental home. The book also includes three recipes for snacks and instructions for African braids. ( )