There couldn’t be a better way to round off this year than to share the inspiring story of nine-year old Ifegazie Esimai and her book, My First Train Ride, Experience in an Africa City, Lagos. Although I happened on Gazie’s book by chance, her story is one that demonstrates every possibility before a reading child.

If you have followed my newsletter from the start, you’ll recall that I started by discussing how and why you should get your child to read https://niranadedokun.com/why-you-child-should-read-and-how-to-get-it-done/ as well as the life-long benefits of that for the child, family and society at large. I then pivoted in https://niranadedokun.com/from-reading-to-writing-give-your-voice-a-page-too/ to discuss how readers inevitably become good writers whenever the responsibility falls upon them. We talked about how reading children become knowledgeable and audacious thinkers prepared to take on every challenge that the world might throw at them. Well, I am happy to introduce you to Gazie who is currently seeking partners for her 1000 Books for 1000 Children initiative. Now, isn’t that audacious?

The first question on my mind when I came across this initiative and the book that birthed it was to ask how the young lady fell into writing at such a young age! The answer of course was that she started reading very early! Her mother, Ogechi Esimai, with whom I did little business when this child was just a toddler, described her daughter as an “avid reader, who consumes books.”  

“Gazie started reading few letter words at 3 and storybooks at 4. We exposed her to books of her age quite early. And she read and wrote daily. We also did “see and report exercises” with her. This means for any new place she visits; she tells us about the new things and writes them too,” the proud mother explains.

The parents ensured that she read and still reads widely. They get story books, history books, novels, (including age appropriate older people’s novels), newspapers, dictionaries, and documentaries for her. Now, the youngster is addicted to books. No day passes without something to read and make notes about.

How did the idea of this book come about? Gazie’s parents made her develop the habit of recording her thoughts, everyday experiences and lessons from everything she reads in a diary. She did exactly that on the first train ride she had with her father, who thereafter took her to feel the real Lagos on the popular Lagos Danfo buses. She came back with a record of fun-filled and challenging experiences, all of which the mother saw as a potential book.  She then guided her in developing a manuscript, which she shared with many peers to the delight of herself and her parents.

Not only did every person who read the book think it was a fantastic piece, the children said it inspired them to take the train ride, so they could tell their own stories! It was at that stage that the parents decided to help Gazie, who won a spelling bee competition four years earlier, and also draws, to print her first book.

About My First Train Ride in an African City, Lagos

This book is a recount of Gazie’s first ever train ride in Lagos. It’s a story of her fun experience and the challenging moments she encountered on the ride. She wrote about notable places she noticed during the train ride as well as the funny, sometimes outrageous things that she experienced on the Danfo bus ride with her siblings.

The book tells a simple story of the potpourri of experiences of a child growing up in one of the world’s busiest cities. She also incorporated some exercises that can boost the literacy and numeracy capacities of young readers.

 

1000 Books For 1000 Children and Write Your Own Story Book Free Workshop for Children.

Now, Gazie is not satisfied with the state of things. She wants more children to have access to books and develop the capacity to share their stories with other children. So, she has started this 1000 books for 1000 children initiative to afford children whose parents or guardians are unable to provide books for them the opportunity to read.

Since there are no public libraries where such children can borrow books, Gazie and her parents reckon that providing copies of My First Train Ride Experience in an African City, Lagos, and other such books would create a passion for reading books and inspire many of them to tell their stories in the various forms, possibly including writing their own books.

I agree that Gazie’s bold effort would motivate many of her peers to develop their own voices and confidently tell their own stories in ways that only they can. But they have gone ahead to establish the “Write Your Own Story Book Free Workshop for Children.” You can fine more information here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Wy0x8mE3ouiGq6BRfWFVi-NRd8V-TQYBOStcg9dowH8/edit?tab=t.0 

This season, the Esimai family is asking you to join them in the desire to give gifts beyond rice and chicken to children in ghettos, orphanages, public schools and indigent children on the streets and communities. The young author, Gazie Esimai’s singular passion is to see more children read more, learn more and tell more of their stories. That is exactly the depth of knowledge, passion, audacity and compassion that reading blesses a child with.

Will you join this beautiful family in spreading the gospel by getting your own children to read and partnering with them to get My First Train Ride in an African City, Lagos, and any other books at your disposal into the hands of as many children as possible?

As I wish you a very Happy 2026, I encourage you to make it a year of the actualisation of your reading dreams and writing possibilities. Catch you next week.

 You can buy my book, Every Journalist Should Write a Book, here

Niran Adedokun,

Writer | Communications Strategist | Book Strategist | Author of “Every Journalist Should Write a Book