Africa

Materials from Africa

Blood Runner: The Long Race to Freedom

Samuel’s parents and young sister, innocent bystanders during an uprising, are killed by South African police. Samuel is sent to live with his uncle, a tribal chief in the Bantu homeland, while his brother vows to join the African National Congress armed struggle and avenge his family’s deaths. In the homeland, Samuel discovers he can run faster than anyone and before long begins to train under his English-educated uncle. Years later, after the end of Apartheid, Samuel is selected as the token black South African athlete to run in the Olympics. President Nelson Mandela is there when he wins his gold medal, and Samuel dedicates it to ‘a very special man… I was running for the President. I was running for my country. This powerful and moving story portrays what it was like for blacks growing up in South Africa aunder Apartheid and the different ways in which they struggled to gain their freedom. For some, like Samuel’s brother, it was an armed struggle, but for Samuel it was the opportunity to prove he could run better than any white man.

Armel’s Revenge

Christophe’s been given the job of looking after the new boy in his class. But Armel’s surly attitude makes him difficult to be friends with. And when he realises that there is more to Armel’s hostility than meets the eye, Christophe is suddenly forced to make painful discoveries about the history of the country he once called home – Rwanda. Can Christophe and Armel leave the past alone? Or will the horrible events in their history spill over into the present?

Lion

The story of a lion, from birth to adulthood, photographed on location in the wild by an award-winning American photographer, who specializes in work with newborn animals. The text shows all the aspects of the animal’s life in the wild, accompanied by close-up pictures of the family group in its natural habitat. A spread at the back of the book gives further conservation information, including useful websites.

Cheetah

Cheetah cubs love to play with their mom. She lets them climb all over her! Follow a family of cheetahs from birth to adulthood in this unique wildlife book for young children, photographed close-up in the wild by an award-winning photographer. See how the mother cheetah protects her cubs, washes and feeds them, and teaches them how to hunt for their own food. And watch the cubs play – chasing, tackling and play-fighting. At last, at two years old, the cubs are ready to look after themselves, and one day they will start a family of their own.

Omer’s Favorite Place

Omer likes playing outside in the garden, in the kitchen, in the sitting room or in his bedroom – in fact he likes playing all around the house. But there are always other things going on in these places and he’s often interrupted by his brothers and sisters, or his mum and dad. However, there’s one special place Omer can go and play – somewhere where no one else goes. And this is Omer’s favorite place of all . . .

Little Lion

One day, Dad comes home with a lion. “Brought you a dog,” says Dad. Mum and the children don’t believe him, but they call it Dog, let it sleep in the dog basket, and keep quiet about their strange, noisy pet. But Big Jonno, the school bully, is curious, and tries to make life tough, until one day, the worst thing happens — the Lion escapes and finds Big Jonno.This delightfully surreal story by a multi-award-winning author and talented illustrator — in which a bully gets his just deserts — will keep young readers guessing all the way through! The inspiration for this story came from the Bleek-Lloyd collection of stories written down by the linguists Wilhelm Bleek, his daughter Jemima and his sister-in-law Lucy Lloyd when they were recording the language and stories of the |Xam* people of the Northern Cape in South Africa.The original story doesn’t have a middle or an end, but it has a very funny beginning when a man brings a lion home and tells his wife it’s a dog.

Gorilla

Far away, in the misty mountains of Africa, a baby gorilla is born. Follow the life of a mountain gorilla from birth to adulthood, in this unique wildlife information book for young children, photographed close-up in the wild by an award-winning wildlife photographer. Find out all about gorilla family life, including food, play, grooming, and communication, and watch one baby gorilla as she grows up until, on her sixth birthday, she is ready to have babies of her own! Also in the EYE ON THE WILD series: Cheetah, Brown Bear, Lion

Endangered

The compelling tale of a girl who must save a group of bonobos–and herself–from a violent coup.

The Congo is a dangerous place, even for people who are trying to do good.

When one girl has to follow her mother to her sancuary for bonobos, she’s not thrilled to be there. It’s her mother’s passion, and she’d rather have nothing to do with it. But when revolution breaks out and their sanctuary is attacked, she must rescue the bonobos and hide in the jungle. Together, they will fight to keep safe, to eat, and to survive.

Eliot Schrefer asks readers what safety means, how one sacrifices to help others, and what it means to be human in this new compelling adventure.

Feature in Volume VI, Issue 1 of WOW Review.

Desmond and the Very Mean Word

When Desmond takes his new bicycle out for a ride through his neighborhood, his pride and joy turn to hurt and anger when a group of boys shout a very mean word at him. He first responds by shouting an insult, but soon discovers that fighting back with mean words doesn’t make him feel any better. With the help of kindly Father Trevor, Desmond comes to understand his conflicted feelings and see that all people deserve compassion, whether or not they say they are sorry. Brought to vivid life in A. G. Ford’s energetic illustrations, this heartfelt, relatable story conveys timeless wisdom about how to handle bullying and angry feelings, while seeing the good in everyone.