Person

Olaleye, Isaac

1941

Isaac O. Olaleye was born on May 17, 1941 in a small village called Erin, nestled in the rainforest of Western Nigeria. He was the fifth of seven children, and when his father took a second wife, the number of children in his family eventually doubled. So Isaac never had a dull moment as far as having someone to play with, get in trouble with, or blame for his mischief! When he was growing up, schooling was not free, even at the primary level. Yet his family was poor and large! Consequently, his parents had to struggle to pay for his only eight years of schooling. So Isaac had to do much self-teaching and many odd jobs to raise enough money to travel to Europe and put himself through school. He did not attend high school. As a reward for years of hard study, Isaac became a graduate of the Institute of Transport in 1970. Isaac worked for Pan American Airways. He now resides in Chula Vista, a suburb of San Diego. Isaac says reading and writing children's books is like a lifetime celebration of youth!