Africa

Materials from Africa

Maison Rouge: Memories Of A Childhood In War

“Liliane Leila Juma was 16 years old when her family home in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was destroyed by rebel soldiers. In this gut-wrenching memoir, she gives an account of her life before and after her family was torn apart by the twin nightmares of civil war and invasion. Sincere and revealing, it gives a moving account of a young girl’s journey from a protected and secure family life, through a series of brutal conflicts that saw her father murdered and her former life utterly destroyed. Maison Rouge is a story of war, and unspeakable loss. It is also the story of survival. Eventually, through the United Nations refugee program, Leila and her family were finally able to relocate to Canada.”– Provided by publisher.

Lion Lights: My Invention That Made Peace With Lions

Richard Turere’s own story: Richard grew up in Kenya as a Maasai boy, herding his family’s cattle, which represented their wealth and livelihood. Richard’s challenge was to protect their cattle from the lions who prowled the night just outside the barrier of acacia branches that surrounded the farm’s boma, or stockade. Though not well-educated, 12-year-old Richard loved tinkering with electronics. Using salvaged components, spending $10, he surrounded the boma with blinking lights, and the system works; it keeps lions away. His invention, Lion Lights, is now used in Africa, Asia, and South America to protect farm animals from predators.

Featured in WOW Review Volume XVII, Issue 2.

Onyeka And The Rise Of The Rebels

The epic second book in the action-packed and empowering middle-grade superhero series. Perfect for 8+ fans of Percy Jackson, Amari and the Night Brothers, and Black Panther. Soon to be a feature film with a major streamer!

Power bursts through my body, and I gasp as my hair shoots out like an avenging sword. It slashes a line through the wooden decking of the walkway. With a deafening crack, the wood breaks apart, splintering with the force of the impact.

Having uncovered head teacher Dr. Dòyìnbó’s hidden agenda behind the Academy of the Sun, Onyeka and her friends are on the run. But they’ve got bigger problems to worry about—they desperately need to find a cure for the Solari disease that comes with using their Ike power and they need to locate Onyeka’s missing parents.

When their last safe house is uncovered, Onyeka turns to the only potential allies they have left; the Rogues, a group of rebels that have been trying to expose Dr. Dòyìnbó’s lies for years. Joining forces, will the two groups be able to defeat their shared nemesis, or is there a new danger on the horizon for the Solari?

Serwa Boateng’s Guide To Vampire Hunting

After her home is attacked by shapeshifting vampires, twelve year old Serwa Boateng is sent to live with her aunt and cousin in Maryland, but the aspiring vampire hunter discovers that middle school is harder than it appears on television, especially when she has to avoid detention and turn her classmates into warriors before they become vampire food.

Fibbed

After telling too many far fetched tales, Nana Busumuru is sent to spend the summer with relatives in Ghana, where she must join forces with the trickster spider Ananse to prevent an evil corporation from stealing the magic in the village forest.

The Gilded Ones

The start of a bold and immersive West African-inspired, feminist fantasy series for fans of Children of Blood and Bone and Black Panther. In this world, girls are outcasts by blood and warriors by choice. Sixteen-year-old Deka lives in fear and anticipation of the blood ceremony that will determine whether she will become a member of her village. Already different from everyone else because of her unnatural intuition, Deka prays for red blood so she can finally feel like she belongs. But on the day of the ceremony, her blood runs gold, the color of impurity–and Deka knows she will face a consequence worse than death.

Then a mysterious woman comes to her with a choice: stay in the village and submit to her fate, or leave to fight from the emperor in an army of girls just like her. They are called Alaki–near immortals with rare gifts. And they are the only ones who can stop the empire’s greatest threat. Knowing the dangers that lie ahead yet yearning for acceptance, Deka decides to leave the only life she’s ever known. But as she journeys to the capital to train for the biggest battle of her life, she will discover that the walled city holds many surprises. Nothing and no one are quite what they seem to be–not even Deka herself.