A 2023 Bank Street Children's Book Committee Best Book of the Year - Book List: Ages 9-12

A 2023 Children's Africana Book Awards Honor: Best Book for Older Readers

Sunday Times Best Book for Children 2021

A Guardian Best Book for Children 2021

Shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize

"The rural Nigerian milieu that Efua Traoré evokes in 'Children of the Quicksands' is by far the eeriest and most imaginative of the three [books reviewed]." -- The Washington Post

"Traoré's writing is enchanting, and it immerses readers into the colorful, rich world of Yoruba mythology. Simi is a protagonist that readers can root for, while the charming cast of side characters provides the reader with a multitude of personalities to enjoy. Vibrant and imaginative." -- Booklist

"A beautifully evoked story." -- The Telegraph

"Traore's storytelling feels almost otherworldly ... exhilarating" -- The Times

"[A] beautifully evoked story of a girl sent to stay with her grand-mother in a remote Nigerian village. When Simi suspects her grandmother is hiding family secrets, she sets out across the forbidden quicksands to discover the truth." -- The Telegraph (UK)

"The fantasy creates tension and drama, but the best aspect of this book is the evocation of place, with such detail as the skills Simi has to learn and the village traditions of drumming and dancing. It is powerful too in its treatment of loss and of the relationships between Simi, her mother, her grandmother and the friends she makes. Clear, vigorous prose beckons the reader in." -- The Sunday Times (UK)

"Full of secrets and myths that we discover alongside Simi, whose mother raised her far from the old-fashioned reach of her own mother, priestess of the Yoruba deity Oshun. Drawn by a power greater than her own will, Simi discovers a forbidden lake of quicksand, what lies beneath it and what it means to her broken family." -- The Observer (UK)