‘It happened like magic’: Bringing African Canadian authors’ voice to kids

Little free library at Chancellor Elementary School is shown, on Aug. 23, 2025. (Zach Kitchen/CTV News Winnipeg)

Little free libraries in schools around Winnipeg are now getting the African Canadian representation with children’s books.

Bibi Ukonu, author and president of Griots Lounge, is one of the people putting efforts in to give the representation that African Canadians needed for a long time.

“When we came into Canada in 2019 … we figured out that the minority African Canadian immigrants here in Canada didn’t have that much representation,” Ukonu recalled.

“Based on that, we established Griots Lounge – a publishing company – to represent African Canadians in Canada, starting from Winnipeg, Man.”

The company has been operating for five years, giving the required voice for African Canadian authors. Now, they are making another move – children’s books.

“(It) came naturally to me. Go around and get (fiction, children’s books) into little free libraries in homes, and especially in grade schools around Winnipeg,” Ukonu explained.

“I have been doing that for every single book that we published, to make sure that these authors are read by the communities around here – so we can also hear them more, apart from having them in the bookstores or in the libraries.

“We are starting with children’s books, having them in the free libraries, because we always want access to children … They can easily pick these books and read them, get to start understanding these stories.”

Ukonu said he had his doubts, but the response crushed it away.

“When we started, I was in doubt, like ‘do we have that much African Canadian authors in Canada?’

“But, the numbers now are so overwhelming that we are now having to go through these manuscripts to be sure of who we are to publish, the quality of the writing, the quality of literature, how they interpret to the community here in Canada, and also a whole lots of factors.

“It happened like magic.”