Bouba and Zaza series expands and meets great success in Angola and Nigeria

Since November 2013, new publications have been added to the Bouba and Zaza series of children’s books produced by the WGECD and published by Michel Lafont.

Among the new titles:
•    Bouba and Zaza’s big picture book: this book accompanies children in their discovery of everyday objects in their lives.
•    Counting with Bouba and Zaza: helping children simply and entertainingly to learn to count.
•    Writing with Bouba and Zaza: helping children learn to write and recognize the letters of the alphabet in different scripts.
•    Recognizing and writing the letters of the alphabet with Bouba and Zaza: helping children learn to make different letter shapes.

The series also includes new coloring albums as well as teaching guides. These guides are intended for teachers and parents, allowing activities to be set up to suit the individuals helping children discover the content of the albums. 

Great interest has been expressed in this series in the following countries:

-    In Angola, at the national “Big Push” forum on the Post-2015 development agenda held in August 2013, the country committed to allocating high levels of funding for ECD and making it a high priority. In this connection, a Bouba and Zaza series was presented to the Minster for Education, submitted officially as a boxed set. The series has been translated into Portuguese to facilitate the process. 

-    In December 2013, during the mission undertaken by the WGECD coordinator as part of the presentation of the literacy project for girls and women (PAJEF), Nigeria requested a translation of the series into the three main languages spoken nationally (Yoruba, Fulani and Hausa). The series was printed in 50,000 copies for use in literacy classes for mothers and in inter-generational education.

Bouba and Zaza is an “inter-generational” series of books for children. It is aimed at developing socialization and life skills in young African children aged three to eight outside the family context. It is also aimed at older children, parents and educators.
The series deals with a range of topical subjects of relevance to the lives of African families such as the problems of war and conflict, the HIV/AIDS pandemic, environmental protection, and so on.

For more information, please contact Ms. Rokhaya Diawara, WGECD Coordinator, email: r.diawara@unesco.org