Region: Kenya

Materials from Kenya

Beatrice’s Dream: A Story of Kibera Slum

By Book Importer | Published: February 16, 2012

Beatrice is a thirteen-year-old orphan in Kibera, Nairobi – a Kenyan shantytown built on refuse and rubbish and one of the biggest slums in Africa. In this book she describes her life: her walk to school, the dust that blows between her teeth and the mud she wades through, her teacher’s down-to-earth encouragement, her fear [...]

Other Descriptors: Africa, Intermediate (ages 9-14), Nonfiction » Themes: , , , , , , , » 1 Comment

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: Africa, Historical Fiction, 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: Africa, Infant/toddler (ages 0-2), 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: Africa, Biography, Intermediate (ages 9-14), Somalia » 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 [...]

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

Handa’s Hen

By Book Importer | Published: August 24, 2011

Every morning, Handa, a young girl from the Luo tribe, feeds breakfast to Mondi, her grandma’s black hen. This morning, however, Mondi is nowhere to be seen. So Handa and her friend Akeyo set off on a hunt, coming upon two fluttery butterflies, three stripy mice, four little lizards, five beautiful sunbirds, and many more [...]

Other Descriptors: Africa, Picture Book, Primary (ages 6-9), Realistic Fiction, Tanzania » Themes: , » Leave a comment

Chirchir Is Singing

By Book Importer | Published: August 24, 2011

Chirchir just wants to make herself useful like all her other family members. But she drops Mama’s water bucket, spills Kogo’s tea, and sends Baba’s potatoes tumbling down the hill. but each of their tasks proves too challenging for her.Isn’t there something that Chirchir does best?  

Other Descriptors: Africa, Early Years (ages 2-6), Picture Book, Primary (ages 6-9), Realistic Fiction » Themes: , , , , , » Leave a comment

What the Animals Were Waiting For

By Book Importer | Published: June 14, 2011

Cowbells tinkle. And over there, a family of elephants munches on dry grass, flaps huge ears like slow fans, and waits. It is a time of waiting. The gazelles, the wildebeest and the zebras are all waiting. The lions, too, and the crocodiles are waiting. Little Tepi watches the animals and wonders what is coming. [...]

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

The Lonely Lioness and the Ostrich Chicks

By Book Importer | Published: June 14, 2011

In this retelling of a Masai tale, a mongoose helps an ostrich get her chicks back from the lonely lioness who has stolen them.

Other Descriptors: Africa, Early Years (ages 2-6), Folklore, Picture Book, Primary (ages 6-9), Tanzania » Themes: , , , , » Leave a comment

Wangari’s Trees of Peace: A True Story from Africa

By Book Importer | Published: June 14, 2011

As a young girl growing up in Kenya, Wangari was surrounded by trees. But years later when she returns home, she is shocked to see whole forests being cut down, and she knows that soon all the trees will be destroyed. So Wangari decides to do something – and starts by planting nine seedlings in [...]

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