Comic book series : Aya

Aya has captured the hearts of North American readers of all ages for the rare portrait it paints of a vibrant, happy, bourgeois Ivory Coast in the 1970s, based upon Marguerite Abouet's youth in Yop City. Not only is Aya complemented with Cl�ment Oubrerie's gorgeous artwork but the volumes offer a slice-of-life peek into African culture: complete with recipes, glossaries, and wardrobe instructions for turning one's pagne (brightly colored fabric) into a skirt, headwrap or baby carrier. Engaging and fun, the universal stories in Aya provide a much-needed context for today�s all-too-common unfortunate and heartbreaking news stories.

Aya is the winner of the Best First Album award at the Angouleme International Comics Festival, the Children�s Africana Book Award, and the Glyph Award; was nominated for the Quill Award, the YALSA's Great Graphic Novels list, and the Eisner Award; and was included on "best of" lists from The Washington Post, Booklist, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal.

Praise for Aya:
"Based on Abouet's remembrance of her childhood in Abidjan...the story, along with French illustrator Oubrerie's artwork, brings to life an Ivory Coast not seen before, a place overflowing with vibrant, rich textiles, new words, music, food, and lively characters filled with humor, love, and the hope for a better life."Library Journal, starred review