Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun
by Tolo Okogwu
Black Panther meets X-Men in this “fast-paced, action-packed, and empowering” (A. F. Steadman, New York Times bestselling author of Skandar and the Unicorn Thief ) middle grade adventure about a British Nigerian girl who learns that her Afro hair has psychokinetic powers—perfect for fans of Amari and the Night Brothers , The Marvellers , and Rick Riordan!
Onyeka has a lot of hair—the kind that makes strangers stop in the street and her peers whisper behind her back. At least she has Cheyenne, her best friend, who couldn’t care less what other people think. Still, Onyeka has always felt insecure about her vibrant curls…until the day Cheyenne almost drowns and Onyeka’s hair takes on a life of its own, inexplicably pulling Cheyenne from the water.
At home, Onyeka’s mother tells her the shocking Onyeka’s psychokinetic powers make her a Solari, one of a secret group of people with superpowers unique to Nigeria. Her mother quickly whisks her off to the Academy of the Sun, a school in Nigeria where Solari are trained. But Onyeka and her new friends at the academy soon have to put their powers to the test as they find themselves embroiled in a momentous battle between truth and lies… (Goodreads synopsis)
Content Notes:
Racism, anti-Black hair sentiments, loss of family member, emotional trauma, peer conflict, bullying, institutional abuses of power, child soldiers.
How These Live Book Clubs Work
Participation in the live book club includes access to a set of resources and activities as well as interactive components.
Participants receive
- A suggested reading schedule
- PDF reading guides with comprehension questions
- Vocabulary/reading activities
- Discussion board posts in our online classroom
- Writing/multimodal project prompts related to the reading
- An invitation to a live discussion
- A recording of the summary of the live discussion
- An optional feedback add-on for the final paper/project
- Rubrics for at-home feedback
Families are welcome to use as much or as little of the suggested resources and activities as they'd like to fit their interest and schedules.
(There is an option to add a Feedback Add-on for Final Projects at checkout.)
Ages:
9 - 13
Dates:
March 1-31, 2026
Live Meeting:
Friday, March 27, 2026
1:00 PM ET / 12:00 PM CT / 11:00 AM MT / 10:00 AM PT
Sessions typically last around 1 hour.
Those who cannot attend the live session will receive a recorded summary.
(Note: If there is high enrollment, additional live sessions may be opened to keep sessions small enough for meaningful discussion.)
Supplies:
- A copy of the book Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun (ISBN 9781665912624)
- Used and borrowed copies will work just fine! If your learner is going to participate in final projects and reading guides, I recommend having a physical copy even if they primarily read the audiobook.
- See Dayla Learning's affiliate Bookshop List
- Zoom account for live session
- Microphone and camera for live session (optional)
- PDF reader
-
Access to printer if you want to print worksheets