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Barine Ngbor (’23) has published her first children’s book, I See Colour: The Amazing Life of Bolu Davis, which follows the life of an eight-year-old Nigerian-Canadian girl and the adventures she has with her diverse group of family and friends.

“It has been exciting,” says Ngbor. “Sometimes I still can’t believe this idea that I had in my head has manifested into a book I can hold in my hands.”
 
I See Colour focuses on the values of empathy and the golden rule, that we should treat everyone with basic humanity and kindness regardless of what they look like or where they are from. Ngbor also wanted I See Colour to show Canada as a multicultural mosaic where differences and similarities between cultures are something to be explored and celebrated and she thought it was important to centre the story around a young Black girl being her free, happy, and curious self.  
 
Since I See Colour was published in September, Ngbor has done readings for groups of children and their parents at libraries in Moncton and Fredericton and had a book signing event at the Chapters store in Moncton.
 
Ngbor spent two years writing I See Colour, all while earning her Bachelor of Science with a double major in biochemistry and psychology. She was supported in her writing project by Mount Allison’s Office of Experiential Learning and Career Development and by grants offered through the office for students with entrepreneurial ideas. The grants were funded by TD Ignite and the Gerald Schwartz and Heather Reisman Foundation.
 
“It was a blessing,” says Ngbor of the funding and supports. “I was doing a double major and was also working at Tim Horton’s and doing summer school as well. It was a lot. With the grant funding I was able to quit my job to focus on the book and I was able to pay the illustrator. The experiential learning office connected me with the publisher.”
 
Ngbor is working on her next book, a collection of short stories for an adult audience, and she has an idea for another children’s book.
 
I See Colour is available through and online retailers and in stores, including in Sackville.

Other recent Mount Allison community books include:

• Charlie: The Little Bear That Did, a children’s book set in the woods of northern Nova Scotia, written by Hal (Harold) Giddens (’58)
   
• Mary Pratt: A Love Affair With Vision, an in-depth look at the life and works of painter Mary Pratt (’57) that draws on extensive interviews and archival materials, written by Dr. Anne Koval, professor in the Pierre Lassonde School of Fine Arts
   
• Cracking the Nazi Code: The Untold Story of Canada’s Greatest Spy by Jason Bell, which tells the true story of Winthrop Pickard Bell, who wrote the first warning of the Nazi plot for the Second World War — in 1919. Pickard Bell earned degrees from Mount Allison in 1904 and 1907, and his grandfather was the University’s first president.

You can also visit the Mount Allison Alumni website to discover more Mount Allison authors.