Hands Around the Library : Protecting Egypt's Treasured Books

Text and illustrations describe how Egypt's students, librarians, and demonstrators gathered around the Library of Alexandria in January of 2011 amidst turmoil to protect the building which stood as a representation of freedom.

When I Get Older : The Story Behind Wavin' Flag

Poet, rapper, and singer-songwriter, K'naan, recounts his story, in which, he and his family were in danger and fled his home in Somali to live in New York and eventually found a home in Canada.

Ostrich and Lark

Ostrich and Lark spend their days on the grasslands of southern Africa surrounded by a chorus of birdsong. From his perch in a tree Lark joins the chorus, while below Ostrich is silent. Then comes the joyful day when Ostrich finds his voice. This picture book about an unlikely friendship is the result of collaboration between the award-winning poet Marilyn Nelson and the San artists of Botswana. 

The No. 1 Car Spotter and the Firebird

Oluwalase Babatunde Benson, the No. 1 car spotter in his community, must find a way to make the fabulous Firebird pass through his village.

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind tells the story of William Kamkwamba, a young man in central Malawi who improvises a windmill out of bicycle and other scrap yard parts to produce electricity for his family's home.

Author: William Kamkwamba and Mealer, Bryan

The Matatu

A young boy takes a ride on the matatu bus with his grandfather for his fifth birthday. Along the way his grandfather tells the story of why dogs chase the bus, goats run from it, and sheep pay no attention to it.

Author: Eric Walters

The Herd Boy

In The Herd Boy, Niki Daly adds another picture book depicting everyday South African life to his collection. This story, given a rural Transkei setting in what is now the Eastern Cape Province, follows the routines of a young Xhosa boy who tends his grandfather's sheep and goats.

The Turn-Around Bird

Through time travel, a modern African American family visits 14th century West Africa. There, they navigate the Saharan, heat, Islamic law, and local religious practices, revealing Timbukutu at its height during the Mali Empire as a lively hub of learning, politics, and commerce.

New Shoes for Helen

Helen lives in Ethiopia. She and mama go shopping for new shoes for her auntie's wedding.
Author: Ifeoma Onyefulu

Far from Home

Two girls are worlds apart but are linked by a terrible secret as they struggle with adolescence, family and a painful colonial legacy as the turbulent history of Zimbabwe is brought to life.

Author: Na'ima Robert:

Songs from the Baobab

Notable Book 2012

This delightful book was originally released in a French edition, which sold over 100,000 copies. It includes 29 songs from ten different Central and West African countries. The songs, found on an accompanying disk, are in eleven different languages. These songs present a dialog between mother and child, but are also performed by men, women, and children. The beautiful arrangements and illustrations add to the harmony of the entire enterprise.
Author: Chantal Grosleziat

Stones for my Father

Best Book 2012

In Stones for my Father novelist Trilby Kent reveals the way South African Boers were targets for large-scale extermination during the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902), and how Africans were maligned and oppressed by the Boers.
Author: Trilby Kent

Where I Belong

Thirteen-year-old Khadija, a Somali refugee, becomes a model for a famous fashion designer to help her family back home. Then her younger brother is kidnapped and held for ransom, The designer's daughter Freya and 14 year-old Abdi, whose family Khadija lives with in London, try to help and protect her.
Author: Gillian Cross

Good Luck Anna Hibiscus

Good Luck Anna Hibiscus! returns readers to a large African city to follow the adventures of the young heroine. The four stories, divided into chapters of approximately twenty pages each, take place during the dry holiday season while Anna Hibiscus prepares to visit her maternal grandmother in Canada for Christmas. As in the earlier books, Atinuke never identifies the specific location of Anna's home, although readers familiar with the region will recognize southern Nigeria...
Author: Atinuke

The No. 1 Car Spotter

Notable Book 2012

No. 1 is good at doing all sorts of things. He and his friend Coca-Cola gather nuts in the trees and keep the soft drinks cool in the river. And when the cart breaks down and the villagers can't get their goods to market, No. 1 comes up with the solution - and it's brilliant.

Goal

In a dusty township in South Africa, Ajani and his friends have earned a brand-new, federation-size soccer ball. They kick. They dribble. They run. They score. These clever boys are football champions! But when a crew of bullies tries to steal their ball, will Ajani and his friends be able to beat them at their own game?
Author: Mina Javaherbin

Best Book 2011

Seeds of Change

A picture book biography of scientist Wangari Maathai, the first African woman--and first environmentalist--to win a Nobel Peace Prize (in 2004), for her work planting trees in her native Kenya. Illustrations.
Author: Jen Cullerton Johnston

Sphinx's Queen

Chased after by the prince and his soldiers for a crime she did not commit, Nefertiti finds temporary refuge in the wild hills along the Nile's west bank before returning to the royal court to plead her case to the Pharaoh. The sequel to "Sphinx's Princess (2009) concerning Nefertiti.
Author: Esther Friesner

Mama Miti

Wangari Maathai known as Mama Miti, mother of trees, shares her wisdom with other women by advising them to plant trees native to Kenya to solve their many problems.
Author: Donna Jo Napoli

S is for South Africa
Honor Book 2011

Presents an A to Z illustrated look at some of the people, places, items, and customs of South Africa.

Author: Beverley Naidoo

A Gift from Childhood

The artist, ceramicist, writer, and storyteller describes his experiences growing up in a small village in Mali with his grandparents, and discusses how the memories have stayed with him his whole life.
Author: Baba Wagué Diakité

Bonyo Bonyo

Bonyo Bonyo is a true story about how a Kenyan boy's courage and determination, along with critical support from family and strangers, helped him live out his dream of becoming a physician. Pursuing his goal forces him to leave his family and ultimately his country. But years later he is able to return as a doctor.... Vanita Oelschlager wrote this book after interviewing Dr. Bonyo Bonyo. Dr. Bonyo Bonyo practices family medicine in Akron, Ohio. He tells each patient that they are family to him.
Author: Vanita Oelschlager

The Girl who Married a Ghost

This collection of Nigerian folktales includes ten tales from the Igbo ethnic group. The stories are illustrated by American artist Julia Cairns.
Author: Ifeoma Onyefulu

Deron goes to Nursery School

Deron and his mum get ready for his first day at a Ghanaian nursery school described and shown in photographs.
Author: Ifeoma Onyefulu

A Long Walk to Water

When the Sudanese civil war reaches his village in 1985, eleven-year-old Salva becomes separated from his family and must walk with other Dinka ...through southern Sudan, Ethiopia, and Kenya in search of safe haven. Based on the life of Salva Dut, who, after emigrating to America in 1996, began a project to dig water wells in Sudan.
Author: Linda Sue Park

Grandma comes to Stay

Three year-old Stephanie and her family in Ghana welcome a visit from her grandmother as described and shown in photographs.
Author: Ifeoma Onyefulu

A Hare in the Elephant's Trunk

This novel is based on the real-life experience of Jacob Akech Deng, whose village Duk Padiet in Southern Sudan was attacked by Northern soldiers one night in October 1987. Seven year old Jacob escaped the burning village and joined a long line of young refugees known as the Sudanese ´Lost Boys.'
Author: Jan L. Coates

The Day the Rains Fell

A fable about the origins of waterholes in Africa in which a goddess who descends to the Earth finds that the plants are wilting and the animals are thirsty and consequently places large pots of clay into the earth to collect rainwater; meanwhile, her daughter uses the leftover clay to make a necklace of dull beads, to which the animals add color to show their appreciation.
Author: Anne Faundez

Between Sisters

Sixteen-year-old Gloria, who lives in poverty in Accra, dreams of becoming a dressmaker but has difficulty with school, and when a distant relative offers to pay for dressmaking school in exchange for Gloria looking after her son in Kumasi, Gloria accepts the offer and finds that life in Kumasi is full of temptations and distractions which she must struggle to overcome.
Author: Adwoa Badoe

Tirhas Celebrates Ashenda

Seven-year old Tirhas prepares for and attends the annual Ashenda festival in the Tigray region of Ethiopia.
Author: Yohannes Gebregeorgis

The End of Apartheid in South Africa

An in-depth overview of apartheid, with chapters on the early history before the establishment of the apartheid regime, featuring profiles of many important leaders as well as clear discussion of present-day politics.
.Author: Liz Sonneborn

Seaside Dream

At a birthday celebration on the beach, Cora gives her grandmother a special gift and encourages her to make a trip back to her home country, Cape Verde.

Zarma Folktales of Niger

A collection of folktales from the oral traditions of the Zarma people of Niger, West Africa.
Author: Amanda Cushman

E is for Ethiopia

Produced by a team of four Ethiopians, this picture book uses the alphabet and fine photographs to introduce young readers to the country, particularly Ethiopia’s rural areas.
Author: Ashenafi Gudeta

Cry of the Giraffe

Thirteen-year-old Wuditu, an Ethiopian Jew, is separated from her family when soldiers take her and others from a refugee camp in Sudan where they had been waiting and hoping for transport to Israel. She keeps her dream of being reunited with her loved ones alive as she deals with the humiliation and discrimination.
Author: Judie Oron

Yafi's Family

Yafi, his parents, and two sisters, eight-year-old Kari and ten-year-old Anna, remember his early life and his adoption experience by telling stories, revisiting memories, and looking at photographs.
Author: Linda Pettitt and Sharon Darrow