Oh No, Ojó!

by Alaba Onajin

Ojó loves to draw, but what happens when he starts to draw everywhere he shouldn't? From an emerging Nigerian talent comes a humorous story dealing with a common preschooler issue.

More than anything else, Ojó loves to draw. Mama says, “My little Ojó is making the world a more beautiful place.” But when he sneaks off with his sister’s pencil, she gets upset. Papa brings home markers, and Ojó starts drawing everywhere he shouldn’t. He ruins Papa’s newspaper and Mama’s shopping list and on every blank space he can find. How can his family encourage his love for drawing while teaching him that he can’t draw everywhere?

Then Ojó’s sister brings home a big pad of paper and Ojó immediately begins to fill it up. Mama hangs his drawings all over the house so Ojó can still make the world a more beautiful place.          

This captivating picture book is a fun and funny read aloud with pictures that will make readers laugh. Based on the author-artist's own childhood, this lush Nigerian setting introduces kids to a place that is seldom seen in picture books.

Genres: Picture Books, Art, Family

40 pages, Hardcover

First published July 15, 2025

About the author

Àlàbá Ònájìn is a children’s book author/illustrator born in Lagos state, Nigeria and has a Diploma in Freelance Cartooning and Illustration from The Morris College of Journalism, Surrey, Kent, UK. He is currently living in Gloucester, England, having recently emigrated from his home in Lagos, Nigeria. He has always had a passion for telling stories through his drawings, and as a child, was strongly influenced by the illustration style of Hergé’s Tintin series; these books sparked an energy to bring his stories to young readers around the world.

Ònájìn’s work includes two picture books with Maria Modugno at Random House Studio, Waaa Waaa Goes Tawa!, and Oh No, Ojo (2025). Past books include Anike Eleko, a comic book on girls’ education published by Farafina Books, On Ajayi Crowther Street, a graphic novel published by Cassava Republic in collaboration with the German cultural organization Goethe Institut, and other art collaborations with UNESCO on the Role of Women in African History Project, illustrating the lives of three great African women: Funmilayo-Ransome Kuti, Empress Taytu Betul of Ethiopia, and Miriam Makeba.

Reviews

[Aolund · Rating 5 out of 5]

A satisfying, relatable tale of an enthusiastic young artist who draws on all the wrong places but is ultimately supported by his loving family. A great book for storytime.

Themes: Art, Family, Consequences/Cause-Effect

[Melanie H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little boy loves to draw but breaks his older sister's school pencils. His father gets a set of markers with which the child immediately begins to create chaos. He draws on everything he shouldn't. Big sister to the rescue with an appropriate pad of paper.

[Angela De Groot · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this sweet, funny, and endearing picture book, Ojó loves to draw, but is always getting in trouble with his big sister for taking her pencils from her school bag and breaking the points. Then one night, Dad surprises Ojó with a box of colorful markers and Ojó is thrilled. His art knows no bounds and when he draws everywhere he shouldn’t, he’s back in trouble and banished to his room sans markers. All is not lost because his big sister comes up with a solution and soon Ojó is back to making the world a more beautiful place.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

There won't be a parent alive who will be unable to relate to this particular story. Ojo, the book's young protagonist, loves to draw. Of course, any parent would be proud of that budding talent, and his are, of course. That is, they're proud until things get out of hand when his father gives him his own markers so that he won't mess with his sister's materials. Inspired, he draws all over his mother's shopping list, the newspaper before his father can read it, his sister's school uniform, and even on a vender's display. His family's growing frustration is depicted effectively in the Procreate illustrations, even showing his mother in a blue and white tie-dyed dress as she holds the markers aloft and scolds him. After his drawings in the sand are washed away by a storm, his sister comes to the rescue with a plan that might channel his creativity in the right direction--and on the right material. This simple, accessible story, based on the experiences of the Nigerian author/illustrator, is told in an engaging, humorous way.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Potentially a fun one for storytime, especially if we involve the kids - "is that a good place to draw?"
etc.

[SamSamSam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is just missing a little excitement, but the story is definitely relatable and easy to engage with.