Chirchir just wants to make herself useful like all her other family members. But she drops Mama’s water bucket, spills Kogo’s tea, and sends Baba’s potatoes tumbling down the hill. but each of their tasks proves too challenging for her.Isn’t there something that Chirchir does best?
Africa
Materials from Africa
Aesop’s Fables
A little mouse saves the life of a great lion; hungry Grasshopper, too lazy to store food, gets no mercy from the industrious ants; crafty Jackal tricks Klipspringer to escape death – but is himself tricked by the cock and the dog…. Here are 16 of Aesop’s wise, witty and timeless fables, portrayed for the first time in an African setting.
The Elephant Scientist
In the sprawling African scrub desert of Etosha National Park, they call her “the mother of all elephants.” Holding binoculars closely to her eyes, American scientist Caitlin O’Connell could not believe what she was seeing from these African elephants: as the mighty matriarch scanned the horizon, the other elephants followed suit, stopped midstride, and stood as still as statues. This observation would guide the scientist to a groundbreaking discovery about elephant communication: elephants actually listen with their limbs.
Abe In Arms
Portraying the pressures of teens to live a normal life while facing mental illness, this suspenseful young adult novel follows the journey of success-bound Abe, who struggles with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. A senior in high school, with a loving and wealthy adoptive family, Abe is on track for a big scholarship and an open future. Suddenly, horrific flashbacks rip him back to war-torn Africa, where five years previously he lost his mother, sister, friends, and almost his own life to torturous violence. During therapy, he uncovers even darker moments from his past that make him question how he survived. This action-filled thriller will open the eyes and hearts of teenagers to the lives of young people who have been exposed to profound violence around the world.
Cleopatra’s Moon
“The Luxe” meets the ancient world in the extraordinary story of Cleopatra’s daughter. Selene has grown up in a palace on the Nile with her parents, Cleopatra and Mark Antony–the most brilliant, powerful rulers on earth. But the jealous Roman Emperor Octavianus wants Egypt for himself. When war finally comes, Selene faces the loss of all she’s ever loved. Forced to build a new life in Octavianus’s household in Rome, she finds herself torn between two young men and two possible destinies–until she reaches out to claim her own.
Shona
Fifty-six newly released titles that provide a fascinating portrait of the many peoples that inhabit Africa. These books have natural curriculum tie-ins with multiculturalism, geography, and social studies.
The No 1 Car Spotter
Oluwalase Babatunde Benson is Number 1. He’s the Number 1 car spotter in his African village. The Number 1 car spotter in the world! The start of an exciting new series about the irresistible Number 1, whose hobby is car spotting, but who is good at solving all sorts of problems for his village.
See the review at WOW Review, Volume IV, Issue 4
Bintou’s Braids
When Bintou, a little girl living in West Africa, finally gets her wish for braids, she discovers that what she dreamed for has been hers all along. A little girl named Bintou wants long, pretty braids that are woven with gold coins and seashells, just like her older sister and other women in their West African village. But she is too young for braids. When Bintou saves the lives of her two young cousins and is offered a reward, she discovers true beauty comes in many different forms.
Sundiata: Lion King of Mali
The story of Sundiata, who overcame physical handicaps, social disgrace, and strong opposition to rule Mali in the thirteenth century.
Fatuma’s New Cloth
In East Africa, a young girl learns that one cannot always judge by appearances as she and her mother visit a market in search of kanga cloth and meet merchants who all claim they have the secret to good chai (tea).