Social commitment and didacticism in children’s African prose fiction

Abstract

In various region of Africa, there has presumably been a remarkable effort to publish and record collections of children literature in prose narratives, folktales, genealogies songs, myths, legends, rhymes, proverbs and riddles. In spite of this remarkable effort, it has not attracted enough scholarship. In light of this, this study aims to assert the relevance and significance of children‘s literature in Africa by examining the dominant themes and settings present in selected African children‘s prose fiction, highlighting them as veritable tools for fulfilling the novelists‘ social commitment. The method of research applied in this paper is qualitative, in that it focuses on textual analysis and interrogation of the selected texts. The theoretical framework that guide this study is post colonialism, as it has proven to be the most appropriate theory that adequately explicate the aim and objectives of this study. The findings of this research revealed that many early African children‘s prose fiction were originally oral tales which were transcribed into writings, with the aim of teaching morals and preserving tradition. However, modern writings have expanded from this preoccupation to accommodate contemporary issues like cyber morals and
education. This paper therefore concludes that African children‘s prose fiction serves a major role in educating African children on African values. Hence it's importance and continued need for subsequent intellectual scholarship.