With the help of a blue crane, a mother dove rescues her babies from a not-so-clever jackal.
Khoikhoi, Southern Africa
Picture Book
Ape
Swing with a hairy orangutan and her baby as they lunge for a smelly, spiky durian fruit. Roam and play with a gang of chimps, then poke out some tasty termites with a blade of grass. Chatter and feast on figs with a bonobo, or chomp on bamboo with a gorilla as he readies for sleep. What could be better than spending time with these rare and wonderful creatures–after all, the fifth great ape on this planet is you!
Nii Kwei’s Day
Nii Kwei lives in Accra, the capital of Ghana. He gets up at 6 o’clock every morning. He helps his sisters and brother tidy up the compound, then he eats a breakfast of coco (corn porridge), bread, fried eggs and a chocolate drink. At 7:30 he goes to school in a taxi. Later, on his way home, he goes to Abraham’s material store with his mother. He ends the day playing football with his cousins, back at the compound. This book is part of the series A Child’s Day, photographic information books concentrating on the daily lives and experiences of children in countries around the world, published in association with Oxfam.
The 12 Days of Christmas
This story sets the traditional Christmas carol in Africa, using a combination of text and rebuses. This book includes author’s note about some of the African traditions depicted.
Nabulela: A South African Folk Tale
When the village girls cruelly trick the daughter of their king, he will forgive them only if they kill Nabulela, a treacherous white-skinned monster. A tale of the Nguni people
One Sun Rises
The varied wild creatures of Africa introduce young readers to the world of numbers and counting, as well as to the diverse landscapes and wildlife of the African continent.
Ananse’s Feast: An Ashanti Tale
Unwilling to share his feast, Ananse the spider tricks Akye the turtle so that he can eat all the food himself, but Akye finds a way to get even.
Caring for Cheetahs
Author Rosanna Hansen travels to Namibia, Africa, to help cheetahs, one of the worlds endangered species. She helps save a cheetah cub from a life-threatening injury. She pets a thoroughly tame cheetah. She sets up a cheetah race. (Cheetahs love to run.) And she meets many cheetahs that are not so tame. Humans are taking over cheetah habitat, so the world’s fastest runners are running out of space and hanging on in low numbers. People are working to save them one by one through organizations like the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF), which runs the reserve the author visits. Young readers will revel in this up-close perspective on the magnificent cheetah.
Song Bird
An adaptation of a folktale from southern Africa, in which a magical bird helps a kind young girl get back her people’s stolen cattle from Makucha the monster.
Baby Baboon
When lazy Leopard cannot catch Hare for his dinner, he goes after Baby Baboon instead.