Our Favorite Childhood Memories
“Neo & Nubia: The Greatest Walk” follows three children on a magical journey into the depths of human history, where they engage in an exciting exploration of their ancestry. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
When Oby and I were growing up in Boston, Massachusetts, our older brothers and sisters would create obstacle courses, scavenger hunts, and trivia games for us. Those are some of our favorite childhood memories. We learned about the world, science, technology, history, and ourselves as we had fun playing.
How did you balance the educational aspects of the story with the need to keep it engaging and entertaining for children?
We began with the end in mind. We really want every child to understand that we have a common ancestor and to learn about the “great walk” that led our African ancestors to populate every continent. With that as the goal, we figured that the best messengers for that story would be kids just like the ones that will be reading these stories. So we wrote the story in a way that would ensure every child reading it would feel like another friend – joining in and experiencing the wonderful adventure right alongside Neo and Nubia.
Your characters are intriguing and fun to follow. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?
Great question, Neo, Nubia, & Emeka are super relatable kids. The three values that we’re communicating through their characters are: (1) Honor and enjoy your family and loved ones, (2) Have fun learning new things, and (3) Share your ideas and gifts with the world.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
Our next book in the series is called Neo & Nubia: The First Words. The twins travel back in time to the invention of written language. From mixing their own ink to storytelling on cave walls, they learn that communication connects and builds community. The trio celebrate alongside our ancestors and “make their mark”. This experience spotlights the origin, patterns, and practice of symbolic writing, which is the science behind the 7,000+ languages across the globe that we all use today.
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Cleverly written and beautifully illustrated with a trio of brilliant young kids who have to go back in time and witness some of the most important moments in human history to pass a series of important tests. It is designed to be a child’s first world history-focused picture book and their latest STEM read.
A brother and sister balance the challenges of middle school with traveling through time to save the world.
Neo and Nubia, and their schoolmate are sent back in time on a quest by their grandfather, whose health is declining, to secretly test if they have what it takes to replace him as griots to save all of the human knowledge from being lost. Equipped with their curiosity, clever antics, and ancient wisdom, they will outsmart an evil cabal that wants to erase history. If the trio is successful, they will be selected to become the next generation of griots, our “new guides.” The one catch is that time is running out, and they do not know that this adventure is both their greatest test and a dangerous trap. Neo & Nubia will explore the themes of friendship, courage, innovation, and power.
Neo & Nubia will cover the full span of human history from the first homo sapiens to the first Black and female vice president and Supreme Court justice of the United States.
This series is created by a global team of writers, illustrators, and animators from every branch of the African Diaspora.
Posted on July 9, 2023, in Interviews and tagged author, author interview, book, book recommendations, book review, book reviews, book shelf, bookblogger, books, books to read, childrens books, Chinwe & Oby Onyeagoro, Chinwe Onyeagoro, ebook, goodreads, indie author, kids books, kindle, kobo, literature, nook, novel, picture books, read, reader, reading, story, writer, writing. Bookmark the permalink. 1 Comment.
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