Baba Wague Diakite,
A Gift From Childhood
Groundwood Books, 2010.

Rating: G*

"It takes a village to raise a child" is a well known African belief and Baba Wague is sent, with his two older brothers, from the town to his paternal grandparents' home in a small Malian village at the age of four. His grandmother raises the boys in a traditional way, through the telling of stories and experiencing life in the community of the extended family. When he is educated his grandmother agrees to allow him to go to school in the city where he develops his talents as an artist and eventually leaves to go to America but will never forget the truths that he learns in the village.

For children in the First World this picture of life in an African village may be quite shocking, but the love, interdependence and skills of the family members are so apparent that we may wonder if the price we have paid in our move to our urban, "civilised" communities is too high.

All the art is the work of the author and adds much to the delight of this book. Baba Wague is founder and director of an organization that promotes cultural and educational exchanges between Mali and the US, as well as being a highly acclaimed artist, ceramicist, author and storyteller.

Thematic Links: Community; Family; African Studies; Ceramic Art Projects

Mavis Holder
Vol. 16, number 1
October 2010

*Rating System:
E - Excellent, enduring, everyone should see it!
G - Good, even great at times, generally useful!
A - Average, all right, has its applications.
P - Problematic, puzzling, poorly presented.