The most popular genre in our Isiolo Girls Secondary’s library is African Writers and the most read author is H.R Ole Kulet. His book Is it possible? is a particular favourite with the girls. They say it is “a most inspiring book” because it “encourages” them by showing the story of a Masai boy who seeks education and eventually succeeds in his goals despite his family and the socio-cultural and economic challenges he faced.
We are very fortunate that in the last few years it has become easier to find a wide range of books inside and outside Kenya that feature characters that look like our students, culturally reflect them and face similar challenges. In these characters youth, as Scholastic puts it, “can see their own lives and experiences as part of a larger human experience. Reading, then, becomes a means of self-affirmation, and readers often seek their mirrors in books….When kids enjoy reading titles with characters who look like them, it helps form a connection to the book on another level. Identifying with the characters in a story allows for a deeper comprehension of the text because kids are making these kinds of self connections”