OBIOMA PLAYS FOOTBALL

A girl who uses a wheelchair faces challenges at her new school.

Eight-year-old Obioma loves playing football—soccer, to readers in the United States. Using her arms as legs, she scores goals with a “special stick” and propels her wheelchair as fast as a cheetah; she jokes that her best friend Mmeri is a tortoise next to her. Obioma also loves the oranges that grow near her school. Alas, she’s forbidden to “set foot” on the farm—but surely rolling in with Mmeri on her lap to grab the fruit doesn’t count. After being caught orange-handed, Obioma’s sure she’s in trouble when she comes home and overhears her parents discussing something serious. But their news is even worse: Obioma and her family are moving to another city for Mummy’s job. At her new school—which has no ramp, requiring Daddy to carry her inside—kids stare at her and jeer that girls and wheelchair users can’t play football. Obioma grows sadder and sadder…until another child asks her to play. Unigwe warmly introduces readers to an energetic, appealingly mischievous girl whose disability is just one part of her. Cleverly reinforcing this multifaceted portrayal, Okoroafor’s cartoon illustrations depict Obioma’s wheelchair as a simple white outline, visible but muted amid lush yellow, green, and blue background hues. All characters are Black, with varying shades of brown skin, and the setting appears to be African, possibly Nigerian. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

An encouraging take on moving and making new friends.