If that is the raison d’être of Adeola’s writing of Little Angels, I believe we have something in common – Reviving and cultivating a vigorous reading culture among Nigerian children. It is true that our children have abandoned the age-old reading culture of their parents and their grandparents. They are now cash and carry internet, website and connectivity lords – more to the immorality on the internet. There is therefore, like Adeola said, the need to bring books back to their consciousness.

Little Angels, by Adeola, has been well published with pictorial illustrations that endear the child to the books. During our growing years in the 1950’s we read ALAWIYE, a Yoruba Primer which was lavishly illustrated. In one, we saw two primary school classmates: one was riding a pleasure (the name for cars in those colonial days) and the other was pushing OMOLANKE, a hand cart for carrying goods. In another, we saw two women going to the market gossiping away: one was already on her way back from the market, while the other, oblivious of her need to get to the market in good time to buy what her husband will eat for the day before the close of market.

These illustrations are loaded with moral lessons for us pupils. We wanted to be successful in our studies – good successes. It is our hope that Adeola’s well illustrated book will awaken in our children a knack to read good children literature and foster unity in diversity in our children. Little Angels is a window to the child’s world at play: at the zoo, friendship, pets colours, the four seasons, sing song, the moon, sun, stars, prayer and God’s glory at Christmas, family relations, father’s and grandmother’s stories by moonlight; were all given studied visibility for the delight of the child-reader. England, Spain, Lagos and rural Iyin-Ekiti were brought by witty contrast to the imagination of the child.

We wish the child-reader a fruitful peregrination in this book of poetry by Adeola.

I therefore recommend Little Angels to world readership because of the hope of a brighter future that is embedded within it.

Prof. S J Timothy-Asobele
Professor & Head of European Languages UNILAG.