Africa Access Review (January 21, 2021)

"The Talking Baobab is well written and suitable for children of all ages. The book has easy-to-understand moral lessons that can be of benefit to all. Johari, the rabbit, shows how to handle bullies with your brain rather than brawn. The hyena, a model of bad behavior, reaps the ill-will he sows and loses everything because of his greed. Baobab, naturally endowed with life-sustaining resources, is generous and kind but no fool.  Proverbs are sprinkled throughout the book: “A good neighbor is better than a relative who lives far away …. Deeds speak louder than words …. An egg shouldn’t wrestle with a rock.”  

Illustrations are often as important if not more so than the actual words in books focusing on distant cultures. Lateef’s  illustrations and color selections are representative of the Sahel region. The drawings – clear, clean and easy to follow – show the differences between the Sahel, a semi-desert belt with vegetation that supports animal and plant life and the Sahara, a true desert with little vegetation."