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TAIWO AND HER TWIN by Setta Schatz

TAIWO AND HER TWIN

By

Publisher: McGraw-Hill -- Whittlesey

The on-the-spot author provides her simple plot with the rhythm of life enjoyed by the children of a Yaruba village: the dances, the household chores, the ever encroaching wild and the family-centered life. The Yaruba are a tribe of southwestern Nigerians, an agricultural/trading people who live in large, complex village communities. When a school is at last assigned to their village, Taiwo's father makes a difficult choice. Taiwo feels she can do whatever her twin, Kehinde, can. But, there isn't enough money to educate both daughters and sons. After much sibling effort on her behalf and a heroic struggle with a fearsome American turkey that had been given to the village as a gift, Taiwo is rewarded with school. A gentle reminder of a privilege often taken for granted with scorn here, it is written in an easy vocabulary that carries some sound information about African realities.