In a time before alarm clocks, Mary Smith, a “knocker-up,” walks through the town early in the morning, waking people up by shooting at their windows with her peashooter.
Mary Smith
Primary (ages 6-9)
Material appropriate for primary age groups
My Day with Anka
When Anka comes each week on Thursday, young Karrie enjoys her Czech cooking and helps her with the housework.
Be Patient, Abdul
With the help of his younger sister, 7-year-old Abdul raises money to go to school by selling oranges in the marketplace in Sierra Leone.
Elizabeti’s School
On her first day at school, Elizabeti misses her family and wonders if it wouldn’t be better to stay home, but the young Tanzanian girl discovers the joy of learning and finds a pleasant surprise when she gets home.
A Promise To The Sun
Explains why bats only come out of their caves at night.
Learning to Swim in Swaziland: A Child’s-Eye View of a Southern African Country
An eight-year-old girl describes her year living in the southern African country of Swaziland.
Ndito Runs
Every day many children in Kenya run miles to school–so does Ndito. From her village in the highlands she runs barefoot, across ridges and down hills, under baobab trees and through tall grass
Lion And The Ostrich Chicks, And Other African Folk Tales
Includes four traditional tales told by the Hausa, Angolan, Masai, and Bushmen people of Africa.
Tree Of Life
Text and pictures document the life cycle of this amazing tree of the African savannah, and portrays the animals and people it helps to support.
The Tomb Of The Boy King: A True Story In Verse
Tells, in rhyming text, the story of Howard Carter’s efforts to find Tutankhamen’s tomb and of what he did discover in the Valley of the Kings. By the author of Erin’s Voyage.