What a sweet and touching book. I love its honesty and very 'real' language, giving you a true picture of Africa. The references to imams and shamans and the packed lunch of puff puffs, baobab juice and peanuts, give it a wonderful feel of the book being a little different and foreign.
I liked the play on words, the homynym for draw in the title and the 'smile just strokes away.'
The book has a wonderful message -of what is important in life and the hard lesson you sometimes have to face before you realise this.
The illustrations are very detailed and realistic and give the reader and listener lots to look at and discuss.
A lovely read with a simple and poignant message.
Rosie Watch, A LoveReading Ambassador
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A very short, but pleasant book.
Draw Me Close to You is a charming book, each page accompanied by a clear, colourful illustration. The message is very simple, keep talking and listening to each other. Tunde is a little African boy who lost his mother, but has a loving father who doesn't really appreciate his boy's love of drawing. The boy ignores his father's pleas to do better at school, the kind of situation many families find themselves in. It takes an unfortunate accident to bring them back together again. All's well at the end, although I think the ending could have been a little more drawn out , possibly with some conversation between father and son.... Read Full Review
An uplifting book.
'Draw Me Close to You' by Kossim Osseni is an inspiring book for pre-teens, delightfully illustrated by Diana Torres. It's multicultural setting and characters make it accessible and appealing to all.
The story is about Tunde and his father, Papa Dele, not long after the death of the boy's mother. When his son's school grades begin to suffer, Papa Dele bans all Tunde's drawing materials, thinking that all the time taken up with them could be better used studying.... Read Full Review
a charming tale which provokes discussion.
When Tunde's mother sadly dies, he finds comfort in his art work. However, as his school grades begin to suffer, his father - Papa Dele - throws away Tunde's crayons and drawings. As Tunde rushes out of their apartment feeling upset, he is run over and remains in a coma in hospital for three weeks. Papa Dele hears his wife telling him to soften his hard heart but although Tunde recovers, he suffers memory loss. Weeks pass and Tunde performs well in all his school and household tasks but does not seem to find fun or joy in anything. His father seeks professional support but to no avail. One evening Papa Dele sees a pencil, that Tunde had given him in the past, with its inscribed invitation to write, on his desk and spends all night drawing.... Read Full Review
