“Don’t look now, but guess who’s staring at you,” Jabali whispered, glancing at the rose bushes behind Pendo. “Not Yonga again!” Pendo shrieked, jumping up and turning to scan the bush. The dolls were having a picnic under the big Jacaranda tree outside Doll Cottage. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon. They had washed down …
It was a beautiful sunny day in Doll Village. A cool breeze blew a scent of roses and something yummy into Doll Cottage. Wait… it smelled like… could it be… Cinnamon pancakes?? Those were the dolls’ favorite! The dolls tiptoed one by one towards the kitchen, but the yummy aroma was not coming from the …
Drip thup plink plonk… The rain beat down on the roof and windows of Doll Cottage. The rainy season was finally here. Doll Village had gone through a long dry season. Doll Lady and the villagers were thrilled about the rain and got busy planting. Vegetables and maize and beans. Trees, flowers and even grass. …
Chisomo woke up to the call of Pipi the lark who was the beautiful morning bird of her village. Pipi was always the first awake and would sing charming songs to wake all the other birds. Chisomo quickly reached for the jerry can under her bed and made her way towards the door. Outside, lay …
It was a bright morning and Sama was elated, antsy and ready to go on an adventure on a boat to watch the fleeting but epic sunset. She however had to help her mother weave baskets before leaving. Sama came from a family of basket weavers. This was their way of life going back many …
“What’s Ouaga…do…?” Jameela stuttered. “Ouagadougou.” Doll Lady pronounced it for her, as she put a stamp on the package. “It’s the capital city of Burkina Faso. We’re sending this lovely doll to a little girl there.” “Yes, don’t you know anything?”Jabali said confidently putting the package on the table for Doll Lady. “Burkina Faso is …
It was Friday evening and the dolls were full of zest. They were itching for an adventure. Jabali and Fadhili were building huts out of cushions, which looked great, until the dolls tried to get into them. The huts fell on top of the dolls and the dolls rolled with laughter and started again. Doll …
It was in a little cupboard in the attic of Doll Cottage. A sun-coloured piece of cloth with some interesting writing near the bottom. The yellow and orange and golden flowers were so pretty, but what interested Jabali the most were the words, written in Kiswahili. Kila mlango… It was a rainy day in Doll …
When Amani sings, even the birds stop and listen. Well…except for that little sparrow on the window. He just whistles along. When Amani plays the drums, everyone in Doll Cottage just wants to dance to the sound from the Isikuti drums. He plays them so well. Slow, then fast then slow again. Some people are …
Something exciting happened in the Doll Cottage garden on Valentine’s Day. Pendo was so excited, she couldn’t stop jumping up and down. “Guess what? Remember the seeds I planted in the garden last month? The ones that grew into little green seedlings with itsy bitsy leaves? Well… today they have pretty white flowers opening up. …
Lulu and I were good friends. Every day we would go outside to play. One day, Lulu’s mom came home with a bicycle for her. She bought Lulu a helmet so that she would be safe and in case she fell, her head was protected. Once Lulu learned to ride the bike, she felt she …
Kioko and I were having a great time playing in the garden. Soon the sun was going to bed and it was time to go home. On the way to the house, Kioko spotted something hanging on a leaf. He could see a butterfly trying to get out of it. It was a cocoon. He …
Zuri loved to read and find out new information about anything and everything. At school, she was always at the library engrossed in a book or two, trying to see what new thing she could learn. During lessons, Zuri loved to share the information that she found with her classmates, and they were usually keen …
The English translation of this Swahili proverb is: If you want to get the things that are under the bed, you must bend your back to reach them. In other words, you’ve got to do the work. 😭 😢 When I was younger my dad told me several times: “The bad news is there are …
Growing up, my mum always told us…”do one thing, finish, then move on to the next thing. That way you do a good job.” Research has shown that multitasking reduces our efficiency because our brains can only focus effectively on one thing at a time. Just before the recent end of term exams, my son …
‘After School Stories’ is what we call our daily bonding session during the school term. The kids update me on the juicy, dramatic and meh 😑 happenings of their day. On many occasions, some of these stories lead to the topic; “Be careful of the kind of company that you keep”. This proverb is a …
A lot of us from this side of the globe grew up hearing proverbs from our parents and grandparents. To date, my dad still speaks to us in proverbs. He was raised by his grandmother and life lessons were always passed down in story and proverb format. This proverb is about celebrating our differences and …
“Make the bed well”, “be neat and tidy”, “clear up after meals and leave the kitchen tidy” 😡, and a whole load of a gazillion other things which seemed like such a pain then were some of the things my mum used to say over and over again. 😓 At the time, I had no …
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