Hassan and Hassana

Hassan and Hassana are twins, and they’re practically identical. Even though one is a boy and the other a girl, ever since they were babies people have had trouble telling them apart. For their 8th birthday, Hassan gets a bike and Hassana gets drums. Hassan’s friends tell him that girls can’t ride bikes, leaving him with an important decision to make. Will he decide to share or will he let Hassana feel left out?

A beautiful story about sharing, kindness and standing up for what is right.

Elnathan John is a novelist and satirist. His short stories were shortlisted for the Caine Prize for African Writing in 2013 and 2015. His satire collection Be(com)ing Nigerian, A Guide was published to critical acclaim in 2019. His debut novel, Born on a Tuesday -- translated into German and French -- won a Betty Trask Award and the Prix Les Afriques. He is a 2015 Civitella Ranieri Fellow and was a judge for the 2019 Man Booker International Prize. He currently lives in Berlin. Hassan and Hassana is his first children’s book.