Africa

Materials from Africa

Last Gate Of The Emperor

Yared Heywat lives an isolated life in Addis Prime — a hardscrabble city with rundown tech, lots of rules, and not much to do. His worrywart Uncle Moti and bionic lioness Besa are his only family… and his only friends.

Walking For Water: How One Boy Stood Up For Gender Equality

In this inspiring story of individual activism, a boy recognizes gender inequality when his sister must stop attending school — and decides to do something about it.Victor is very close to his twin sister, Linesi. But now that they have turned eight years old, she no longer goes to school with him. Instead, Linesi, like the other older girls in their community, walks to the river to get water five times a day, to give their mother more time for farming. Victor knows this is the way it has always been. But he has begun learning about equality at school, and his teacher has asked the class to consider whether boys and girls are treated equally. Though he never thought about it before, Victor realizes they’re not. And it’s not fair to his sister. So Victor comes up with a plan to help.

Ibn Battuta:The Journey Of A Medieval Muslim

Ibn Battuta was no ordinary traveller. Between 1325 CE when he set off and 1354 CE when he finally returned home to stay, he had visited about 40 modern countries and travelled roughly 75,000 miles, going on foot, camel, horse, wagon, boat and even sled.

Small Mercies

Mercy lives in modern-day Pietermaritzburg, South Africa with her eccentric foster aunts―two elderly sisters so poor, they can only afford one lightbulb. A nasty housing developer is eying their house. And that same house suddenly starts falling apart―just as Aunt Flora starts falling apart. She’s forgetting words, names, and even how to behave in public. Mercy tries to keep her head down at school so nobody notices her. But when a classmate frames her for stealing the school’s raffle money, Mercy’s teachers decide to take a closer look at her home life.

Small Mercies has been discussed in My Take/Your Take for December 2020.

The Magic Doll: A Children’s Book Inspired By African Art

Families Of All Kinds Will Appreciate This Simple Tale Of Love And Longing, Motherhood And Magic. In A Small Village In West Africa, A Young Girl Explains The Special Way She Was Born. Her Mother Had Difficulty Getting Pregnant, So She Seeks Help In The Form Of A Doll Which She Treats Like A Human Baby, Carrying It On Her Back And Covering It With Kisses. Months Go By And Finally The Woman’s Belly Begins To Grow! This Beautiful Story Explores The Akua-ba Fertility Figures Of The Akan People Of Ghana, While Also Depicting The Deep Love A Mother Has For Her Children. Élodie Nouhen’s Subtle, Gorgeous Illustrations Combine Collage And Prints That Are Reminiscent Of Traditional African Art, While Remaining Uniquely Contemporary. Each Spread Communicates The Look And Feel Of West Africa–the Blazing Yellow Of The Sun, The Deep Blue Of The Sky, The Richly Patterned Textiles, And Vibrant Flora And Fauna. Adrienne Yabouza’s Text Echoes The Rhythms Of Life In Her Homeland–the Central African Republic. The Book Closes With A Short Introduction To African Art And The Importance Of Fertility Statues In African Cultures.

Walk Toward The Rising Sun: From Child Soldier To Ambassador Of Peace

Sudan, 1980s: Ger Duany knew what he wanted out of life–make his family proud, play with his brothers and sisters, maybe get an education like his brother Oder suggested, and become a soldier for his people when he’s old enough. But then his village was attacked by the North Sudanese military, death kept taking his loved ones away, and being a child soldier was not what he thought it would be. Amid heartbreak, death, and violence, can this lost boy find his way to safety?

Last: The Story Of A White Rhino

A rhino is put in a zoo in the middle of a grey city, where all he can do is pace back and forth. He misses his home, his mother, the smell of earth and rain. He fears he may be the last of his kind. Then one day, he is rescued and released back into the wild, to live free with the other rhinos.

Boundless Sky

Nobody knew, nobody dreamed, nobody even considered the possibility that a bird that fits in your hand might fly halfway around the world looking for a place to nest . . . or that a young girl from northern Africa might flee halfway around the world looking for safety. This is the story of Bird. This is the story of Leila. This is the story of a chance encounter and a long journey home.

Idriss’s Marble

“When war threatens their home, Idriss and his mother must flee. He clutches his lucky charm–a single marble–throughout their journey, walking over hazardous terrain, crawling under barbed wire, and sailing on a fragile little boat. Will the marble’s luck help them avoid capture and bring them to the safety of a new world?”