Region: Africa

Materials from Africa

Promise The Night

By Book Importer | Published: January 18, 2012

For a young girl, Beryl has big dreams- bigger than the vast ranch in British East Africa where she is being raised by her demanding father.  Abandoned by her mother, who fled the remote African life to return to “civilized” England, Beryl’s only friend is her mother’s dog, Buller- that is, until one night when [...]

Other Descriptors: Historical Fiction, Kenya, Young Adult (ages 14-18) » Themes: , , , , » Leave a comment

Lala Salama

By Book Importer | Published: December 21, 2011

An African lullaby in Swahili and English in which a little boy says good night to all the animals and ends with his mother.

Other Descriptors: Infant/toddler (ages 0-2), Kenya, Picture Book, Rhymes/songs, Tanzania » Themes: , , , » Leave a comment

Dan Eldon: Safari as a Way of Life

By Book Importer | Published: December 12, 2011

Photojournalist Dan Eldon left behind much more than the astonishing illustrated journals that would form The Journey is the Destination when he lost his life at age twenty-two while on assignment in Somalia. He also bequeathed a life story that has inspired students, teachers, artists, and creative activists—as well as a forthcoming film, an apparel [...]

Other Descriptors: Biography, Intermediate (ages 9-14), Kenya, Somalia » Themes: , , » Leave a comment

Lala Salama

By Book Importer | Published: November 21, 2011

A mother relates the events of a peaceful day along the banks of Lake Tanganyika to her baby, wrapped up and ready for sleep.

Other Descriptors: Early Years (ages 2-6), Picture Book, Rhymes/songs, Tanzania » Themes: , , » Leave a comment

The Lost Boys of Sudan

By Book Importer | Published: November 21, 2011

This book presents accounts of narrow escapes executed by oppressed individuals and groups while illuminating social issues and the historical background that led to wars in Sudan and the orphaned refugees known as the ‘Lost Boys’.

Other Descriptors: Intermediate (ages 9-14), Nonfiction, Sudan, Young Adult (ages 14-18) » Themes: , , , , , , , » Leave a comment

Never Forgotten

By Book Importer | Published: November 21, 2011

This gorgeous picture book by Newbery Honor winner Patricia C. McKissack and two-time Caldecott Medal-winning husband-and-wife team Leo and Diane Dillon is sure to become a treasured keepsake for African American families. Set in West Africa, here is a lyrical story-in-verse about a young black boy who is kidnapped and sold into slavery, which will [...]

Other Descriptors: Historical Fiction, Intermediate (ages 9-14), Mali, Picture Book, Primary (ages 6-9) » Themes: , , , , » Leave a comment

Only The Mountains Do Not Move

By Book Importer | Published: November 7, 2011

Nobody can say he is settled anywhere forever;
it is only the mountains which do not move from their places.
So goes a Maasai proverb, and so goes the lives of the Maasai in Africa. For hundreds of years they have moved with their herds of cattle and goats across thousands of miles in Kenya and [...]

Other Descriptors: Fiction, Kenya, Primary (ages 6-9), Tanzania » Themes: , , , , » Leave a comment

Nobiah’s Well: A Modern African Folktale

By Book Importer | Published: November 7, 2011

An African boy carrying home precious water for his family shares it with a succession of animals and eventually has his kindness repaid in an unexpected way.

Other Descriptors: Folklore, Picture Book, Primary (ages 6-9) » Themes: , , » Leave a comment

A Stork in a Baobab Tree: An African Twelve Days of Christmas

By Book Importer | Published: October 26, 2011

Set in Africa during the Christmas season, this is the story of a village preparing for a celebration – the birth of a child. The story is told in verse inspired by the traditional carol The Twelve Days of Christmas, but in this version by the author Catherine House the gifts are: 1 stork in [...]

Other Descriptors: Picture Book, Primary (ages 6-9), Rhymes/songs » Themes: , » Leave a comment

How the Leopard Got His Claws

By Book Importer | Published: October 26, 2011

Recounts how the leopard got his claws and teeth and why he rules the forest with terror.

Other Descriptors: Fantasy, Nigeria, Picture Book, Primary (ages 6-9) » Themes: , , , » Leave a comment