Love everything from Abouet! This is no exception. Smart, funny, beautifully illustrated window into the culture of Côte d'Ivoire.

There are so many graphic novels out there written by the white colonists about the former colonies. But, not enough written by the indigenous, local people.  For those who are familiar with Marguerite Abouet, and her Aya series of graphic novels based on her life in the Ivory Coast  (Côte d’Ivoire).

This series is based on her childhood, with Akissi being the mischievous younger sister of the family, who gets into difficulties, such as the time she eats something off the ground, and gets worms, and finds one in her nose. She uses that to chase her brother. She is not horrified by the worm, but delighted that she can chase her big brother.

These tow examples show the ending of some of her adventures. This first is a bus trip where a sheep escapes.  The second is when she is sent to bring a fish to her aunt, but a cat gets to it first.

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-483" src="http://www.reyes-sinclair.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Screen-Shot-2018-05-13-at-6.22.13-PM.png" alt="" />

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-484" src="http://www.reyes-sinclair.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Screen-Shot-2018-05-13-at-6.18.08-PM.png" alt="" />

Silly stories, a little jarring at times for those not used to life in the Ivory Coast. But it is always a good thing to read stories of other lives. The western White world is not the whole world.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

I have loved Marguerite Abouet ever since I read a couple volumes of Aya of Yop City, which I keep meaning to buy and read again. This is a delightful series of vignettes about Akissi, growing up on the Ivory Coast where she keeps a pet monkey, Boubou, goes to school, and gets into all kinds of trouble. It's beautifully illustrated and often very funny. I'm excited to give it to a couple of my friends' kids!