About
About the Author
Nicka created Discover Africa Through Its Prints from a desire to help children experience Africa through more than names on a map.
The idea took root at an African Youth Day event Nicka’s organization hosted at the Ivorian Embassy in Washington, DC — a day meant to help African diaspora children discover the continent through its art, food, textiles, games, and history. Children painted their own Baoulé cloth designs and were dressed in traditional attire for photos. It was meant to be the first of an annual tradition, rotating through different African embassies each year.
Years later, when Nicka’s son Frank had the chance to choose clothing during a visit to Côte d’Ivoire, he chose a traditional Kita ensemble, complete with its accessories, over modern clothing — to everyone’s surprise. For Nicka, that moment captured something she had long believed: when children are given meaningful opportunities to encounter their cultural heritage, the connection can become their own.
Discover Africa Through Its Prints: Côte d’Ivoire is the first book in a series created to make African cultural heritage engaging, visual, creative, and accessible to children, families, and classrooms.
About the Illustrator
Olha (Olya) Tkachenko is a Toronto-based artist and illustrator with more than 15 years of experience in the creative industry. She specializes in children’s book illustration and editorial storytelling, and has illustrated and designed more than 30 books for traditional and independent publishers. Her work is known for its warmth, rich textures, and connection to folklore. Her illustrations have received finalist honors from the Hiiibrand International Illustration Awards and the Bologna Children’s Book Fair.
The Series
Côte d’Ivoire is Book 1. The plan is for each future book to focus on one African country, researched on its own terms.
A French edition and availability in Côte d’Ivoire are important goals for the series. The broader hope is that each book can reach children in the country it celebrates.