ABC… Yes, You Can!

ABC…Yes, You Can!by Florence Mudzongo, illustrated by Josiah TaundiPublished by Your Nickel Worth’s PublishingReview by Michelle Shaw$19.95 ISBN 9781778690372 While it is addressed to Black girls, ABC…Yes, You Can! is a gorgeous book that feels like a gift to little girls everywhere. In simple ABC format, it highlights a huge variety of careers and encourages little girls to dream big dreams. The careers cover a huge range, from aeronautical engineer, to DJ and speech pathologist to truck driver. Best of all, it spotlights specific women in each particular field – all of whom are of African descent. Even though I was born and brought up in South Africa, there are so many names that I didn’t recognise, names such as world-class aeronautical engineer, Winifred Byanyima from Uganda and Clémentine Zeregbe Goli, the only female heavy-duty truck driver from the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire. The book also includes women such as Sahle-Work Zewede, president of Ethiopia, legendary South African musician Yvonne Chaka Chaka and biologist Dr. Wangari Maathai from Kenya who was the first African woman to win a Nobel Peace Prize. There are also women from America and Canada such as web developer Sofia Ongele, who created her first award-winning…