The Kindness of Hauwa and Other Stories

By Sharon Abimbola Salu

The Kindness of Hauwa and Other Stories is a collection of 7 short stories for children including:

1. A Loaf of Bread
2. Pigeon meets Pigeon
3. The Kindness of Hauwa
4. The Courage of Kamsi
5. The Bravery of Belema
6. The Princess and the Golden Flute
7. Enjoy the Quiet 

Early readers and young readers will love these seven African children’s short stories. Each story shares valuable life lessons and themes of courage, bravery, kindness, patience, thankfulness, friendship and determination. Many of the stories feature strong female protagonists.

Children will learn to be thoughtful, grateful, and experience the joy of making new friends through the lives of African children and other interesting characters.

In ‘A Loaf of Bread,’ a little boy learns from his grandmother life changing lessons from baking bread.

In ‘Pigeon meets Pigeon,’ a bird travels to a different country and experiences the joy of friendship.

In ‘The Kindness of Hauwa,’ a young girl in Jos, also known as the Tin City, a city in Central Nigeria, shows that kindness has its rewards.

In ‘The Courage of Kamsi,’ a young girl in Enugu, also known as the Coal City, in South Eastern Nigeria, must overcome her fear to participate in a school Christmas play.

In ‘The Bravery of Belema,’ a bold young girl in Port Harcourt, a city in Southern Nigeria shows bravery in a difficult situation.

In ‘The Princess and the Golden Flute,’ a young princess must rescue her brothers who have been captured by a wicked man.

In ‘Enjoy the Quiet,’ a young girl discovers the value in quiet moments in a noisy city.

Perfect for bedtime and reading out aloud.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sharon Abimbola Salu
• Release date: Dec 31, 2021
• ISBN: 9791220880022

Book preview

1: A Loaf of Bread

The smell of freshly-baked bread drifted in from the kitchen.  The whole house smelled like a bakery. 

Odunayo licked his lips and sprang from Grandma’s sofa to the dining table.  He couldn’t wait to taste the first slice.

Someone’s hungry, Grandma chuckled as she carried the loaf of bread into the dining room.

Grandma, can we eat it now? Odunayo begged.

No.  It has to cool down first, said Grandma.

Odunayo stamped his feet impatiently.

Why, Grandma? he asked.

Good things come to those who wait, said Grandma with a twinkle in her eye.

No, Grandma.  Waiting means starving, said Odunayo.

While they waited, he fetched some butter from the kitchen. 

Bring the bread knife too, Grandma called from the dining room.

As Odunayo went to fetch the knife, he saw the same words Grandma had just spoken written on an apron.

Good things come to those who wait.

He had seen those words in Grandma’s kitchen every time he visited.  But Odunayo was not a very patient person.  He always made a face at these words when he saw them.

It should say ‘cold bread comes to those who wait,’ Odunayo scoffed. 

As he was about to leave the kitchen, he noticed something. 

Beside the napkins and aprons on the wall, there was a picture.  It was always the picture of a salt shaker and a pepper shaker skating on ice. 

That picture was no longer there.

In its place, there was another picture: a hand with a knife cutting a big loaf of bread into thick slices.  The loaf did not look nearly as yummy as the one Grandma had just baked.  However, something else caught Odunayo’s eye.

There was a wooden chopping board with slices of brown and white bread resting on it.  Below the chopping board, some words were written in bold letters. 

At first, he read them quietly, and then, aloud.

A loaf of bread is baked with three lessons in equal amounts:

A cup of Patience,

A cup of Kindness,

And a cup of Gratitude.

How can lessons