Flower Pot Tomatoes, written by Joshua Okediji (2018, Beacon Leaders Press), is a catalogue of instructions and lessons for the young ones. The book shows the value of strong home training, and how a family helps in instilling high moral values in children.
Joshua Okediji, a graduate of French and Russian, introduces the reader to the family of Dr Abiodun Bamgboye. We also meet Mrs Sharon Bamgboye, and their two girls, Victoria and Olabisi, and their grand-mother, Mama Bolajoko. We learn that Mama Bolajoko loves to keep her dirty clothes in a cracked water pot, which she has kept for many years. One day, Dr Bamgboye brings some flowers home, but there is nowhere to plant them as the whole compound is cemented. However, the children ask their father to plead with grandma Bolajoko to give up her precious water pot to plant the flowers in. Grandma Bolajoko grants their request and releases her water pot, and they plant the flowers in the water pot, after filling it with loamy soil.
Victoria later helps her grandmother to wash tomatoes and make them ready for grinding. She takes the water from the washed tomatoes and pours it into the flower pot. A few weeks later, Victoria discovers that tomatoes are growing in the flower pot. This is because of the tomatoes water poured into the flower pot.
In this book, we read that Mrs Bamgboye travels to Cotonou, Republic of Benin with her two daughters during their second term holiday. During this journey, they visit bookshops, and the beach, where Olabisi buys some cowry shells. On their return to Ago-Iwoye, Victoria and Olabisi find their father and grandmother behind their house. They are setting up the place to be used as a tomatoes garden.
In the book, we read about Victoria and her friend, Comfort as they experiment tomato planting with the flower bed in front of their class. The principal, having discovered the tomatoes in the flower bed in front of Victoria’s class, decides to cut out a piece of the school’s land for tomatoes and vegetables farming. This little experiment with tomato seeds by Victoria and her friend, comfort becomes the springboard for the founding of an agricultural club in the school. And we read about how the tomatoes are earning the children some money, and the gift of a piggy bank for Victoria, and how money realised from tomato sales is going into the piggy bank.
In Flower Pot Tomatoes, we see a potent catalogue of instructions and lessons for the young ones. The book shows the value of strong home training, and how a family helps in instilling high moral values in children. We therefore read about how the produce from the school farm, hand crafts and other things are sold to buyers in an exhibition put up by Victoria’s school and her agricultural club.
Also in the book, the author has painstakingly weaved into the story, powerful lessons on how the stock exchange works, why young ones should improve on their talents and how they ought to perceive the ivory towers.
We also learn from this book that cowry shells are not fetish, but currency used by our fore-fathers centuries ago as legal tender for trade. And the role of grandmothers is strongly played up in this work with Grandma Bolajoko’s tutorial of Olabisi on some history in commerce.
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The book also exposes young children to the discipline of saving money, as well as some lessons in business administration. And it teaches children how they can discover their uniqueness and also harness their talents.
For the purpose of tracking the understanding of the readers, the author has at the end of each of the eleven chapters, comprehension exercises, composition writing, list of new words for vocabulary development, and cross word puzzles. In other words, the book is designed in such a way that it is fun to read, it tasks the reader, and it helps to build sound discipline into the young ones.
Ultimately, this 70-page book is a total package, and it is highly recommended for this season when the children are at home.
Olatunbosun is a broadcast journalist, fact checker and book reviewer at Splash FM 105.5, Ibadan. He can be reached via molatunbosun@splashfm1055.com and +234-802-351-7565 (SMS only).
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