Lending Library: Elementary School

All books in this section have illustrations.

14 cows for America

Author: Carmen Agra Deedy (2002); Gonzalez, Thomas (illus.)
Description: This picture book, based on a true story, describes how a remote Maasai village in Kenya honored Americans in the aftermath of the September 2001 attack on the New York Trade Center. A group of Maasai, led by a young Maasai man who lives in New York, dedicated 14 cows to the families of the deceased and vowed that these cows would never be slaughtered. The book is a tribute to the lost Americans and shows the compassion felt for U.S. citizens, in the wake of 9/11, even from rural Kenya. The story is very moving as are the illustrations. Unfortunately the author uses misleading words – “tribe,” “hut” and “fierce” – that reinforce stereotypes and detract from the story. Nevertheless, the importance of the cow as a gift is explained with respect. Cows represent life. The final message of the story is powerfully presented. © Africa Access

Africa is my home: A child of the Amistad

Author: Edinger, Monica (2013); Byrd, Robert (illus.)
Description: Author: Edinger, Monica (2013); Byrd, Robert (illus.)
Description: When a drought hits her homeland in Sierra Leone, nine-year-old Magulu is sold as a pawn by her father in exchange for rice. But before she can work off her debt, an unthinkable chain of events unfolds: a capture by slave traders; weeks in a dark and airless hold; a landing in Cuba, where she and three other children are sold and taken aboard the Amistad; a mutiny aboard ship; a trial in New Haven that eventually goes all the way to the Supreme Court and is argued in the Africans’ favor by John Quincy Adams. Narrated in a remarkable first-person voice, this fictionalized book of memories of a real-life figure retells history through the eyes of a child — from seeing mirrors for the first time and struggling with laughably complicated clothing to longing for family and a home she never forgets. Lush, full-color illustrations by Robert Byrd, plus archival photographs and documents, bring an extraordinary journey to life.

Africa is not a country

Author: Margy Burns Knight & Mark Melnicove (2000); Anne Sibley, O’Brien (illus.)
Description: Africa is Not a Country is perhaps the first picture book about the African continent to respectfully present the diversity of people living in its 53 countries. These authors have created a book that explicitly describes and illustrates the multi-dimensions of the continent. The authors and illustrator subsequently have chosen 25 countries from all the regions of the continent to depict its diversity. A physical map with current country and capital names and a description of the continent follows. They begin with Eritrea, most recently independent. In addition, they feature often forgotten children from Cape Verde, Lesotho, Mauritania, and Madagascar. Moreover, it focuses on children’s activities and not those of adults. The appendix provides basic information for each African country to enable children to compare data. © Africa Access

Aida

Author: Leontyne Price (1997); Leo & Diane Dillon (illus.)
Description: An exquisite, picture book retelling of Verdi’s famous opera about an Ethiopian princess who falls in love with her Egyptian captor. It treats the universal concepts of patriotism, love, and the conflict of loyalty in simple and beautiful language. The plot is so well constructed and presented that, in spite of its familiarity, there is a desire to read it again and again. Here are two persons from two warring nations, patriotic to the core to their own countries and yet willing to give up their lives for the sake of love. The theme transcends love and brings to the fore the questions of devotion and courage which are so necessary for human existence. Lavishly illustrated with colorful scenes, it is the kind of book that will appeal not only to children of African descent but to all humanity. © Author

Akosua’s gift

Author: Christian, Angela & Kathy Knowles; Edmund Opare (illus.)
Description: In the Ashanti village of Tafo women made their pots from clay. Akosua is the youngest daughter in a family well known for their pots. Her sister, Abena, is getting married and Akosua wants to give her something special. She decides to make the biggest pot she has ever made even though she has never made one without a crack. Will she accomplish her wish and give her sister a wonderful present? Read and find out. © Africa Access

All the water in the world

 

Author: Lyon, E. George; Tillotson, Katherine (2011).

Description: A poetic, informative, and thought-provoking picture book looks at water from a global/environmental perspective but never loses sight of the personal for children: “It wobbles in blue pools. It fills your cup up.” George Ella Lyon’s lyrical narrative begins with the water cycle: rain to river to ocean to clouds to rain again. Some places have a wealth of rain and water, while others have little or none. “Living things dream of water …. This wet wonder / means grow / means life will flow / through tigers / through trees. / Through you and through me.” Katherine Tillotson matches Lyon’s lively and lyrical prose with lovely illustrations showing water abstractly—swirls and swaths of blue–and also a very real presence—or absence—in scenes from life on earth: a rain-washed neighborhood of houses, a dry savanna village, a lush tropical forest, and the cycle of life that water makes possible. © Cooperative Children’s Book Center

Baba’s gift

Author: Beverley Naidoo & Maya Naidoo (2003)
Description: In South Africa, Lindi and her brother go to the sea with their grandmother, taking with them a little wooden boat their grandfather has made. They quickly make a new friend and play together with the boat in the sea and then have a picnic. No one notices the sea creeping in until it has taken their boat away. The children are upset but find a special shell to take home for their father to make up for the loss of the boat he had given them. He says he can always make another boat but that he could never make anything as beautiful as the shell. © Africa Access

Bintou’s braids

Author: Page McBrier (2003); Karin Littlewood (illus.)
Description: Beatrice’s Goat is the result of the Heifer Project director’s request for Page McBrier and Lori Lohstoeter to create a children’s book. In order for the author and illustrator to comprehend the linkages between rural Perry, Arkansas and Kisinga, Uganda, they traveled to Uganda to document the true story of Beatrice and the Heifer Project goat. Beatrice’s goat, Mugisa, has brought many new things to the family. The story describes how the sale of Mugisa’s milk and two kids financed a new house, roof, furniture, and schooling for Beatrice. The steady income from the goat enables the family to buy medicines, clothing, and needed supplies. Soon Beatrice’s friend will also have a goat. The book illustrates positive results of a non-profit organization; since so much news from Uganda is negative, it is important for readers to learn that Ugandans are working to improve their lives. The book also focuses on children, their schooling, and responsibilities, rather than on what adults do to or for children. © Africa Access

Bintou’s braids

Author: Sylviane A. Diouf (2004); Shane W Evans (illus.)
Description: 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. The great charm of this book is the way that Bintou is presented in her surroundings, both the real and the imaginary. In her real world, Bintou is observant and takes the reader through some of the important events that mark her life as a young West African girl: hair braiding and decoration, baptism ceremonies for babies, young women dancing, and grandmother’s special friendships with granddaughters. Other interesting themes that run through the story include the importance of age grades or age cohorts in West Africa, the closeness of family and community, the positive fanfare associated with the birth of a baby, girls’ bravery, and the special place that grandparents can play in a child’s life. An added bonus of this tale is the presence of a visitor from the Diaspora, making it truly a work of the twenty-first century. © Africa Access

Bonyo Bonyo: The Story of brave boy from Kenya

Author: Oelschlager Vanita (2010); Kristin Blackwood & Mike Blanc (illus.)

 

Description: When he was a child, Bonyo Bonyo’s baby sister died. That sad event was the start of a hopeful dream: someday he would build a hospital in his village in western Kenya. This first-person picture book narrative tells how young Bonyo was able to fulfill that dream through education obtained with steadfast support from his family despite the sacrifices required, and countless other acts of generosity and kindness. “In my village there was a word that meant togetherness. That word was ‘harambee.’ I will never forget how everyone helped me.” Bonyo attended medical school in Akron, Ohio (where he practices medicine today), and was able to return to Kenya fifteen years after leaving and turn his dream into a reality. He established a medical mission and a clinic in his home village named in honor of his mother. Illustrations rendered with heavy black lines and colorful hues provide the backdrop for this inspiring profile. A photograph of the real Bonyo and more information about his work in Kenya is included. © Cooperative Children’s Book Center

Boundless grace

Author: Mary Hoffman (2000); Caroline, Binch (illus.)
Description: In the picture book Amazing Grace, children were introduced to a spunky little African American girl named Grace. In this sequel, she travels to Gambia, West Africa to visit her father and his new family. This is a simply told story with the subtle message that parents should maintain family bonds despite divorce. The pivotal issue for Grace is the absence of her father. Grace lives in a warm extended family with a mother, a grandmother and a cat called Paw-Paw. Yet, as she tells Nana, “Our family’s not right. We need a father and a brother and a dog.” At times, Grace even denies that she has a father. A trip to Banjul, Gambia helps Grace come to terms with her father and understand that there are many types of families. At the conclusion of her trip to Gambia, she resolves to find books about families like hers and write her own story. Teachers will have to help students see commonalties between Gambia and the U.S. as Grace focuses on activities and objects that are different from home. Teachers should encourage students to study the illustrations for similarities (e.g. there are trucks, sodas, telephones, an airport). The Gambian setting is not essential to the events in the story. © Africa Access

Desmond and the very mean word

Author: Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Douglas Carlton Abrams (2013); A.G., Ford (illus.)
Description: Desmond was very proud of his bicycle. He was the only child in the whole township who had one, and he couldn’t wait to show it to Father Trevor.  When Desmond takes his new bicycle for a ride, his pride and joy turn to hurt and anger when some boys shout a very mean word at him.  No matter what he tries, Desmond can’t stop thinking about what the boys said.  Based on a real life experience from Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s own childhood in South Africa, this book eloquently shows a child’s realization that true forgiveness comes from within and that all people deserve compassion, whether or not they say they are sorry. © Author


Emmanuel’s dream: The true story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah

Author: Laurie Ann Thompson & Sean Qualls (2015)

Description: Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah’s inspiring true story—which was turned into a film, Emmanuel’s Gift, narrated by Oprah Winfrey—is nothing short of remarkable.
Born in Ghana, West Africa, with one deformed leg, he was dismissed by most people—but not by his mother, who taught him to reach for his dreams. As a boy, Emmanuel hopped to school more than two miles each way, learned to play soccer, left home at age thirteen to provide for his family, and, eventually, became a cyclist. He rode an astonishing four hundred miles across Ghana in 2001, spreading his powerful message: disability is not inability. Today, Emmanuel continues to work on behalf of the disabled.

Thompson’s lyrical prose and Qualls’s bold collage illustrations offer a powerful celebration of triumphing over adversity. © Cooperative Children’s Book Center

Fatuma’s new cloth

Author: Leslie Bulion (2002); Nicole, Tadgell(illus.)
Description: Fatuma’s New Cloth is a charming story about a little East African girl who visits the market with her mother in order to purchase kanga cloth for a new dress. During her trip to the market, Fatuma helps us explore the East African perception of the world as she learns about her people’s culture and traditions. Fatuma also comes to learn that different people have different opinions and that they may interpret things very differently. This is especially apparent in her experiences in buying the kanga cloth and her favorite drink, chai, a tea that is commonly prepared and served amongst East Africans. We learn the importance of the market in the life of Fatuma’s community and see how she interacts with each of the vendors at the market, where in time, she will learn the skills she needs to bargain and purchase goods to take home to her family. We also learn about the social importance of kanga cloth in East Africa. Kanga cloth is a colorful printed cotton cloth with traditional motifs that is usually bought in pairs to be worn by both women and men in East Africa (predominantly Kenya and Tanzania) as part of their daily dress. © Africa Access

Healthy kids

Author (s): Maya, Ajmera; Victoria, Dunning; & Cynthia Pon (2013)

In this new title from The Global Fund for Children, readers learn the different ways kids from around the world can stay healthy. Photographs showcase children from Afghanistan washing their hands, a team of boys from Australia playing sports, a group of girls from Panama wearing their seatbelts. There are many ways kids can practice healthy living, no matter where they live.  Back matter includes further information about how to live healthy lives, and how kids can help to improve healthy living around the world so that more kids become healthy. © Cooperative Children’s Book Center

Healthy kids

Author: Penda, Diakite (2006); Baba, Wague Diakite (illus.)
Description: I Lost my Tooth in Africa is a vibrant, lively story about eight-year old Amina, who takes a long journey from Portland, Oregon to West Africa, to visit her father’s family in Mali. When Amina loses her tooth in Mali, places it under a gourd and tangles with the African tooth-fairy, she learns that growing up is also about responsibility. Teachers can benefit a great deal from using this book, especially in their Social Studies classes, when teaching about African culture (food, family, language and traditions) or celebrating Black History Month. The book’s appendix includes a glossary of the Bambara words, a goodnight song in Bambara and an authentic recipe for African onion sauce from Mali. © Africa Access

Ikenna goes to Nigeria

Author: Ifeoma Onyefulu (2007).

Description: Ifeoma Onyefulu is the award-winning writer of various children stories. In this story the reader sees the sophisticated images of a Nigerian urban setting with its architecturally complex landscapes, and also the less sophisticated pictures of the local culture, with flea markets, chickens running around in the village and the barefooted adherents of the river goddess. It is very rich in cultural contents and aesthetically appealing. © Africa Access

 

 

In our village: Kambi ya Simba throught the eyes of its youth

Illustrations: Photographs (taken by students in the village)
Description: What Kids Can Do, a U.S.-based NGO, and students at Awet Secondary School in the village of Kambi ya Simba, Tanzania collaborate to show and explain life in their village.

 

 

 

 

Numbody: Let’s play tucheze

Author: Masayo (2011).

Description: This is a counting book for young children. The book is well illustrated and intended to increase students’ imagination. It has an accompanying music CD.

Author: Napoli Jo Donna (2010); Kadir, Nelson (illus.)

Description: A heartfelt tribute to Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai, who founded Kenya’s Green Belt Movement to combat deforestation, condenses years of activism into a lyrical narrative focusing on Wangari’s impact on both the lives of women and the Kenyan environment. Author Donna Jo Napoli imagines a series of scenes in which women from across Kenya come to Wangari to share their troubles—too little food, too little firewood, dirty water. “Plant a tree,” Wangari tells each one. She suggests a different tree for each trouble—the mukawa thorns will keep predators from chickens; the mukuyu will filter water to clean streams. And she always concludes each encounter with “thaya nyumba—Peace my people.” Kadir Nelson’s lush illustrations, done with oil paint and printed fabrics, show a greening country and the grace and beauty of those who are bringing it back to life. An afterword and author’s note provide brief, factual information about Maathai as well as sources for this account of her work. © Cooperative Children’s Book Center

Mama Miti

Author: Napoli Jo Donna (2010); Kadir, Nelson (illus.)

Description: A heartfelt tribute to Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai, who founded Kenya’s Green Belt Movement to combat deforestation, condenses years of activism into a lyrical narrative focusing on Wangari’s impact on both the lives of women and the Kenyan environment. Author Donna Jo Napoli imagines a series of scenes in which women from across Kenya come to Wangari to share their troubles—too little food, too little firewood, dirty water. “Plant a tree,” Wangari tells each one. She suggests a different tree for each trouble—the mukawa thorns will keep predators from chickens; the mukuyu will filter water to clean streams. And she always concludes each encounter with “thaya nyumba—Peace my people.” Kadir Nelson’s lush illustrations, done with oil paint and printed fabrics, show a greening country and the grace and beauty of those who are bringing it back to life. An afterword and author’s note provide brief, factual information about Maathai as well as sources for this account of her work. © Cooperative Children’s Book Center

Mimi’s Village

Author: Katie Smith Milway (2012); Eugenie, Fernandes (illus.)

In this fictionalized story about a real humanitarian problem facing many countries in the developing world today, readers meet Mimi, an ordinary girl from an ordinary family in Africa. When her younger sister, Nakkissi, gets very sick after drinking unsterilized water from the stream, Mimi learns firsthand how quickly things can go terribly wrong. With no health care provider close by, her whole family must travel on foot to a nearby village to see the one nurse who can provide the medical care her sister desperately needs. Though Mimi is relieved when her sister recovers, she wishes they could get a health clinic in her own village. Several months later, it is Mimi herself who becomes the catalyst to make her wish come true. Author Katie Smith Milway, a former aid worker in Africa, has written the best kind of global education book for children, filled with information that engenders empathy and understanding. The picture-book format with captivating artwork by award-winning illustrator Eugenie Fernandes brings Mimi’s story to life. Along with further information, a glossary and a map, an addendum includes suggestions for how young children can get involved, highlighting how inexpensive, easy-to-make improvements can transform people’s lives. This terrific book would find many uses in elementary classrooms, including lessons on African culture, African family life and the basic health care needs of people everywhere. Most important, it offers opportunities for inspiring discussions about compassion, volunteerism and making a difference in one’s own community and the larger world community. © Africa Access

The Market Bowl

Author: John Steptoe (2008)
Description: Steptoe’s last offering is an adaptation of a Xhosa tale from South Africa. Steptoe has changed the setting of the story from Xhosa land to old Zimbabwe. As in the old tale, the focus is on sisters with opposite natures. One is kind and gentle, the other bad-tempered and selfish. Each hopes to be chosen by the king to be his wife. In addition to learning that good behavior is rewarded and ill deeds are punished, children soak up the atmosphere of rural and city life in an ancient African kingdom. The book can serve as a useful means of introducing children to the variety of architectural structures in ancient Zimbabwe. Thatched houses and massive stone structures are both featured in the illustrations. The drawings of buildings and people are detailed and stunningly realistic. Storytellers searching for a good read aloud will find this book ably fills the bill. © Africa Access

 

My father’s shop

Author: Satomi Ichikawa (2006).
Description: In My Father’s Shop, we follow the adventure of young Mustafa as he learns about his father’s trade as a rug seller in a southern town in Morocco and about communicating with others, in this case tourists from around the world. After asking for and receiving a rug of his very own, Mustafa goes through the village to show his friends his new acquisition. However, in the company of a local rooster, he meets up with friendly tourists who teach how to “speak rooster” in French, Spanish, English and Japanese. Excited to share his new knowledge with his father, he returns to the rug shop, bringing all of his new friends along with him. The rich colors and patterns of Moroccan carpets mix with vivid drawings of local village life, snapshots of the marketplace and the presentation of a variety of international tourists who make up the customers of the rug shop. © Africa Access

My heart will no sit down

Author: Rockliff, Mara (2012); Ann, Tanksley (illus.)

Description: After Kedi’s teacher shares his worries about people in New York City—his home–starving because they have no money for food, the young Bulu girl asks the adults in her village if they can help. But her community has so little it seems there is nothing they can do. Or is there? The next day, the villagers turn up at Kedi’s school with a small but significant offering of coins, explaining that “Our hearts would not sit down until we helped.” Mara Rockliff’s fictional story set during the Great Depression is based on an actual event detailed in her author’s note: In 1931 the mayor of New York City received $3.77 from Cameroon to feed the hungry. Rockliff’s note explains more about the Great Depression, and how she conjectured people in Cameroon may have heard about it from a teacher at one of the schools run by American missionaries. She also provides cultural details of a story she set among the Bulu ethnic group in the south of Cameroon, and concludes with examples of other instances when people in places around the world have sought to help strangers in need. Ann Tanksley’s illustrations provide a vibrant, arresting backdrop for Rockliff’s lyrical storytelling. © Africa Access

My rows and piles of coins

Author: Tololwa, M. Mollel (1999); E. B. Lewis (illus.)
Description: In this story set in Tanzania, the protagonist is a Maasai boy, living in a rural northern area. His father grows an export crop (coffee), his mother markets other crops, and he, Saruni, helps them both, especially his mother. Using an old squeaky wheelbarrow he hauls his mother’s beans, corn, pumpkins and other crops to market. Industrious and thrifty, he saves the coins he earns helping mother, patiently waiting for the day he can buy the bicycle he has his heart set on. Eventually, he gets a bike but it is not new and it comes to him in a surprising way. He shows no disappointment. He is delighted he has a bike of his own, one that he can use to help his mother. The story presents opportunities for discussing a number of topics. We learn, for example, that some parts of Africa are chilly during North America summers, that women play important economic roles in the family and community, and that a bicycle can be an important economic asset. A glossary of Maasai terms and author’s note about Tanzanian currency complete the book. © Cooperative Children’s Book Center

One hen: How one small loan made a big difference

Author: Katie Smith Milway (2008); Euginie, Fernandes (illus.)
Description: Milway’s book does a wonderful job of presenting a positive, simple story of Kojo, a level-headed, hard working boy happy to lend a helping hand to his family and his extended village. Latching on to a loan his mother obtained, he is smart enough to figure out a way to multiply the little his family has, and later share with others around him. Kojo seems to have created a modern variation of the ‘susu,’ an economic and cultural practice among the Akan in Ghana where several people contribute to a joint fund which is then loaned to one of the group. As this person pays back the loan, someone else in the group then benefits from the expanded loan. This continues with everybody at some point benefiting as the pot grows. It is a form of what is now popularly called ‘microfinance,’ a way for usually poor and moderate income people to have access to small, sustainable credit as a way to live decently. Kojo uses the small loan to buy one hen and sell the eggs that the hen lays. Soon, there are more hens and more eggs, and the rest is an appreciable experience in success and growth for everybody connected with Kojo. © Africa Access

One plastic bag: Isatou Ceesay and the recycling women of The Gambia

Author: Paul, Miranda (2015); Zunon, Elizabeth (illus.)
Description: Plastic bags are cheap and easy to use.  But what happens when a bag breaks or is no longer needed?  In Njau, Gambia, people simply dropped the bags and went their way.  One plastic bag became two.  Then ten. Then a hundred.  The bags accumulated in ugly heaps alongside roads.  Water pooled in them, bringing mosquitoes and disease.  Some bags were burned, leaving behind a terrible smell.  Some were buried, but they strangled gradens.  They killed livestock that tried to eat them.  Something had to change.  Isatou Ceesay was that change.  She found a way to recycle the bags and transform her community.  This inspirational true story shows how one person’s actions really can make a difference in our world. © Author

Planting the trees of Kenya: The story of Wangari Maathai

Author: Claire Nivola (2008).
Description: As a child in the highlands of Kenya, Wangari Maathai did not know that she would grow up to be the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. She only knew that she cared for the emerald-covered earth where fig trees, olive trees, crotons, and flame trees grew as far as the eye could see. Wangari left Kenya as a young woman to study biology in the United States. When she returned home, only five years later, she barely recognized the landscape she loved. Small farms that had once dotted the hillsides had expanded; large plantations had been established. As far as Wangari could see, dusty brown earth and tree stumps littered the land. The economy and landscape had changed drastically, and not for the better—Kenya was suffering. Wangari decided to plant trees. She urged women and children to plant trees as well, and taught them how. Claire A. Nivola, with delicate, detailed paintings and thoughtful prose, conveys the challenges Wangari Maathai faced in the development of the Kenyan Green Belt Movement. Since Wangari began her work thirty years ago, more than thirty million trees have been planted in her country. © Cooperative Children’s Book Center

Seeds of change: Planting a path to peace

Author: Johnson, Jen Cullerton (2013); Sonia Lynn Sadler (illus.)
Description: The picture book is based on Wangari Maathai’s life story as a scientist and as the first African woman and environmentalist to win the Nobel Peace Prize. The book begins by describing Wangari as a young girl in Kenya to her life after completing education in Kenya and moving to the United States for higher education. Also it tells of her activism after she returns home from the United States, where she becomes passionate about tree planting that leads to the formation of the Green Belt Movement. © Africa Access

Songs from the baobab: African lullabies and nursery rhymes

Author: Chantal Grosleziat (Compiler), Elodie Nouhen (Illustrator), Paul Mindy (Producer)
Description: This is book presents a dialogue between a mother and child with illustrations and accompanying music disc. The lullabies tell stories that are enhanced by the traditional instruments from Central and West Africa.

 

 

 

Sundiata: Lion king of Mali

Author: David Wisniewski (1992).
Description: The story of Sundiata, who overcame physical handicaps, social disgrace, and strong opposition to rule Mali in the thirteenth century. Winner of the 1993 African Studies Association’s Best Children’s Book on Africa

Sunjata : Worrior king of Mali

Author: Ron and Justine Fontes (2009); Sandy, Carruthers (illus.)
Description: Sunjata, the founder of the Mali empire, is celebrated in Sunjata : Warrior King of Mali. The legend is retold in graphic novel format by Justine and Ron Fontes and illustrated by Sandy Carruthers. The Fontes based their retelling of the Sunjata epic on tales in Epic Ancestors of the Sundjata Era recorded by David Conrad.

The boy who harnessed the wind

Author: Kamkwamba, W., & Mealer, Bryan. (2012); Zunon, Elizabeth (illus.)

Description: In 2001, a drought hit the country of Malawi in sub-Saharan African. “Without water, the sun rose angry each morning and scorched the fields, turning the maize into dust. Without food, Malawi began to starve.” William Kamkwamba was fourteen at the time, living in the village of Wimbe. Fascinated by machines, William was inspired by a diagram of a windmill in a library book to scavenge parts from the junkyard: “a broken bicycle, rusted bottle caps, and plastic pipe, even a small generator that powered a headlight on a bike.” He made them into a windmill, mounted it on a tower, and turned on a light with the wind. William and coauthor Bryan Mealer recount his efforts in this rich, expressive telling that concludes, “Light could not fill empty bellies, but another windmill could soak the dry ground, creating food where once there was none …” An essay at story’s end provides additional information on how William built another windmill in 2007 that he used to power a pump that watered his family’s garden year-round. Elizabeth Zunon’s oil paint and cut-paper illustrations are a distinctive and appealing accompaniment to an inspiring account. © Cooperative Children’s Book Center

Author: Elizabeth Alalou & Ali Alalou (2008); Essakalli, K Julie (illus.)
Description: Nora, a young girl of Moroccan heritage, hears a story about her father’s childhood in a small Berber village in the Atlas Mountains of southern Morocco while her father prepares her family’s usual Saturday dinner, couscous. She hears how her father and his family, and his village, lived through both drought and plenty in their agricultural region. Reflecting the contemporary realities of the Moroccan Diaspora around the world, the book suggests the passage of family history and tradition within a modern household. Elizabeth and Ali Alalou balance the two worlds without relying on sensationalism or an orientalizing of rural Morocco. Includes educational notes on Berber culture in Morocco. © Africa Access

 

The Butter Man

Author: Elizabeth Alalou & Ali Alalou (2008); Essakalli, K Julie (illus.)
Description: Nora, a young girl of Moroccan heritage, hears a story about her father’s childhood in a small Berber village in the Atlas Mountains of southern Morocco while her father prepares her family’s usual Saturday dinner, couscous. She hears how her father and his family, and his village, lived through both drought and plenty in their agricultural region. Reflecting the contemporary realities of the Moroccan Diaspora around the world, the book suggests the passage of family history and tradition within a modern household. Elizabeth and Ali Alalou balance the two worlds without relying on sensationalism or an orientalizing of rural Morocco. Includes educational notes on Berber culture in Morocco. © Africa Access

The mangrove tree

Author & Illustrator: Roth, L. Susan; & Trumbore, Cindy (2011)

Description:  “These are the trees, / Mangrove trees, / That were planted by the sea. / These are the seedlings / That grew into trees, / Mangrove trees, / That were planted by the sea.” A cumulative narrative is one dimension of this picture book that tells how a project planting mangrove trees in the village of Hargigo, Eritrea, resulted in vibrant resource renewal. A more detailed narrative on the facing page of each spread describes how the trees were planted and their positive impact on the ecology and economy. They improve air quality. They provide food for animals and habitat for sea creatures, which in turn means food for the people to eat and sell. This inspired account is set against Susan L. Roth’s marvelous collage artwork. An afterword illustrated with photographs provides information about Japanese American scientist Dr. Gorton Sato’s work helping the people of Hargigo combat hunger with the mangrove tree project. Sato believes mangrove forests are one of the answers to poverty and hunger in the world. © Cooperative Children’s Book Center

Author & Illustrator: Averbeck, Jim (2013).

Description: Mama Cécile and her small daughter Yoyo make their living by selling bowls of their delicious homemade bitter leaf stew every day at the local market. When Yoyo is certain she is ready to make the stew on her own, she takes a few shortcuts. Mama Cécile declares the results only good for the goats. But proud Yoyo is determined to sell her stew, so she takes it along to market. She and Mama Cécile have asked Brother Coin to bless their market bowl, binding them to accept any fair price they are offered. When Yoyo is offered much less than she hoped for her own bowl of stew, she refuses to sell it, angering Brother Coin. It’s up to Yoyo to use her wits and her culinary skill—without shortcuts this time—to appease Brother Coin and regain the blessing for their market bowl. This clever, original story draws on the cultures and customs of Cameroon, and a recipe for bitter leaf stew, Cameroon’s national dish, is included at the back of the book. Although the story is timeless, details in the illustrations place it in a contemporary Cameroonian village. © Africa Access

The No.1 car spotter and the firebird

Author: Atinuke (2011); Warwick Johnson Cadwell (illus.)
Description: This is an interesting and fun story set in Nigeria and gives both the urban and country-like living environment. It tells a story of No.1 the main character who realizes that his grandfather’s car which is used to carry yams, onions, and dried fish among other things to the village market had broken down. Soon No.1 finds a solution to make the car move again.

 

 

 

 

Welcome Dede: An African naming ceremony

Author: Ifeoma Onyefulu (2004).

Description: This photo essay describes the cultural significance of West African naming ceremonies. Click here for a lesson plan to accompany the book.

 

 

Yucky Worms

Author: Vivian, French (2012); Ahlberg, Jessica (illus.)

Description: When a child and his grandma dig up a worm while gardening, the boy’s first instinct is to throw it away. “ ‘Throw it away?’ Grandma looked horrified. ‘Would you throw away one of your friends?’ ” When he replies that it’s hard to befriend a creature when you “can’t even tell which end is which,” Grandma seizes the moment to deliver a lesson on the value of earthworms. In a conversational style, she explains worms’ physiology, diets, function as soil aerators and fertilizers, and the dangers they face from predators. She dispels a myth (bisected worms don’t turn into two worms) and demonstrates how to bring worms to the surface with a simulated rainfall. By the time they move on to the next gardening chore, Grandma has cultivated a newfound respect for worms in her grandson. The pencil and gouache art both illustrates and amplifies the text, with cross-sections offering a worm’s-eye view, while informational tidbits and dialogue bubbles embellish the main storyline. © Cooperative Children’s Book Center