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.
The 12 Days of Christmas
Picture Book
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.
Shadow Dance
When the crocodile she has rescued tricks her, little Salome must use some cunning of her own to escape becoming his next meal.
Hungry Hyena
Fish Eagle uses Hyena’s overriding greed to teach him a lesson he won’t soon forget when she tells him the biggest, sweetest meat is in the sky and he just has to climb up to get it.
How Snake Got His Hiss: An Original Tale
Explains how long ago a self-absorbed snake became responsible for the hyena’s spots, the lion’s mane, the monkey’s chattering, the ostrich’s speed, and its own unique shape.