Africa

Preschool – Grade 3

  • Haley, Gail E.
    A story, a story; an African tale, retold and illustrated by Gail E. Haley
    Recounts how most African folk tales came to be called "Spider Stories."
    Educ. Res. GR 351.3 .H3
  • Greenfield, Eloise.
    Africa dream
    A black child's dreams are filled with the images of the people and places of Africa.
    Educ. Res. PS 3557 .R39416 A5
  • Musgrove, Margaret.
    Ashanti to Zulu : African traditions
    Explains some traditions and customs of 26 African tribes beginning with letters from A to Z.
    Educ. Res. GN 645 .M87
  • Sisulu, Elinor.
    The day Gogo went to vote : South Africa, April 1994
    Thembi and her beloved great-grandmother, who has not left the house for many years, go together to vote on the momentous day when black South Africans are allowed to vote for the first time.
    Educ. Res. PR 9369.3 .S5 D3 19
  • Stuve-Bodeen, Stephanie, 1965-
    Elizabeti's doll
    When a young Tanzanian girl gets a new baby brother, she finds a rock, which she names Eva, and makes it her baby doll.
    Educ. Res. PS 3569 .T82 E5 199
  • Diakité, Baba Wagué.
    The hunterman and the crocodile: A West African folktale
    Donso, a West African hunterman, learns the importance of living in harmony with nature and the necessity of placing humans among, not above, all other living things.
    Educ. Res. GR 350.3 .D53 1997
  • Daly, Niki.
    Jamela's dress
    Jamela gets in trouble when she takes the expensive material intended for a new dress for Mama, parades it in the street, and allows it to become dirty and torn.
    Educ. Res. 00-335
  • McDermott, Gerald.
    The magic tree; a tale from the Congo
    Retells a Congolese tale in which an ugly and unloved twin discovers a magic tree that gives him everything he wants.
    Educ. Res. GR 357.8 .M25 c.1
  • Feelings, Muriel L.
    Moja means one; Swahili counting book
    The numbers one through ten in Swahili accompany two-page illustrations of various aspects of East African life.
    Educ. Res. QA 113 .F44
  • Stanley, Sanna.
    Monkey for sale
    When Luzolo goes to market with her parents; she learns that it takes a great deal of bartering to finally get what she wants.
    Educ. Res. PS 3569 .T334 M58 2
  • Mollel, Tololwa M. (Tololwa Marti)
    My rows and piles of coins
    A Tanzanian boy saves his coins to buy a bicycle so that he can help his parents carry goods to market, but then he discovers that in spite of all he has saved, he still does not have enough money.
    Educ. Res. PR 9199.3.M6 M9 199
  • Onyefulu, Ifeoma.
    Ogbo : sharing life in an African village
    Educ. Res. DT 515.45 .I33 O594
  • Stojic, Manya.
    Rain
    The animals of the African savanna use their senses to predict and then enjoy the rain.
    Educ. Res. PR 6069 .T577 R3 20
  • Tchana, Katrin.
    Sense Pass King: a story from Cameroon
    Despite a jealous king's repeated attempts to get rid of her, Ma'antah continually manages to outwit him and proves herself worthy of the name Sense Pass King.
    Educ. Res. Bushner PS 3570 .C5
  • Medearis, Angela Shelf, 1956-
    Seven spools of thread: a Kwanzaa story
    When they are given the seemingly impossible task of turning thread into gold, the seven Ashanti brothers put aside their differences, learn to get along, and embody the principles of Kwanzaa. Includes information on Kwanzaa, West African cloth weaving, and instructions for making a belt.
    Educ. Res. Bushner PS 3563 .E2
  • Diakité, Baba Wagué.
    The hatseller and the monkeys : a West African folktale
    An African version of the familiar story of a man who sets off to sell his hats, only to have them stolen by a treeful of mischievous monkeys.
    Educ. Res. GR 350.3 .D53 1999
  • Pinkney, Jerry.
    The nightingale
    Despite being neglected by the emperor for a jewel-studded bird, the little nightingale revives the dying ruler with its beautiful song. A retelling set in Northwest Africa.
    Educ. Res. SELECT PT 8117 .N31
  • Aardema, Verna.
    Traveling to Tondo: a tale of the Nkundo of Zaire
    On his way to his wedding, with his friends as attendants, a civet cat meets with extraordinary and unexpected delays.
    Educ. Res. Bushner PS 3551 .A2
  • Kurtz, Jane.
    Water hole waiting
    A thirsty monkey waits as the larger animals drink from the water hole on the African savanna.
    Award: Library School Journal Best Books 2002.
    Educ. Res. PS 3561 .U77 W37 20
  • Daly, Niki.
    Why the sun & moon live in the sky
    The sun and moon must leave their earthly home after Sun invites the Sea to visit.
    Educ. Res. GR 351.3 .D27 1995

Grades 4-6

  • Bryan, Ashley.
    Beat the story-drum, pum-pum
    Five traditional Nigerian tales include "Hen and Frog," "Why Bush Cow and Elephant are Bad Friends," "The Husband Who Counted the Spoonfuls," "Why Frog and Snake Never Play Together," and "How Animals Got Their Tails."
    Educ. Res. Bushner PS 3552 .R8
  • Goodall, Jane, 1934-
    The chimpanzees I love : saving their world and ours
    Educ. Res. QL 737 .P96 G5848 2
  • Aardema, Verna.
    Misoso : once upon a time tales from Africa
    Leelee Goro, a Temne tale -- Anansi and the phantom food, a tale from Liberia -- The Boogey man's wife, a Mano tale -- Half-a- ball-of-Kenki, an Ashanti tale -- The hen and the dove, an Ashanti fable -- The Sloogey dog and the stolen Aroma, a Fang tale -- The Cock and the Jackal, a Khoikhoi fable -- No, Boconono!, a Zulu tale -- Toad's trick, a Kanuri fable -- Goso the teacher, a Swahili narrative poem -- Hapendeki and Binti the Bibi, a Swahili tale -- Kindai and the ape, a tale of the Emo-Yo-Quaim.
    A collection of twelve folktales from different parts of Africa.
    Educ. Res. GR 350 .M5 1994
  • Steptoe, John, 1950-
    Mufaro's beautiful daughters: an African tale
    Mufaro's two beautiful daughters, one bad-tempered, one kind and sweet, go before the king, who is choosing a wife.
    Educ. Res. PS 3569 .T387 M8 19
  • Mollel, Tololwa M. (Tololwa Marti)
    The orphan boy: a Maasai story
    Though delighted that an orphan boy has come into his life, an old man becomes insatiably curious about the boy's mysterious powers.
    Educ. Res. PR 9199.3 .M6 O7 19
  • Medearis, Angela Shelf, 1956-
    The singing man : Adapted from a West African folktale
    A couple's youngest son is forced to leave his West African village because he chooses music over the more practical occupations of his brothers, but years later he returns to show the wisdom of his choice.
    Educ. Res. GR 350 .Y8 M4 1994
  • Wisniewski, David.
    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.
    Educ. Res. DT 533 .K45 W57 199
  • Alexander, Lloyd.
    The fortune-tellers
    A carpenter in the West African country of Cameroon goes to a fortune teller and finds the predictions about his future coming true in an unusual way.
    Educ. Res. PS 3501 .L435 F6 19

Grade 6 - 12

  • Farmer, Nancy.
    The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm: a novel
    In 2194 in Zimbabwe, General Matsika's three children are kidnapped and put to work in a plastic mine while three mutant detectives use their special powers to search for them.
    Educ. Res. PS 3556 .A732 E3 19
  • Levitin, Sonia, 1934-
    The return
    Desta and the other members of her Falasha family, Jews suffering from discrimination in Ethiopia, finally flee the country and attempt the dangerous journey to Israel.
    Educ. Res. PS 3562 .E92 R8 198
  • Kurtz, Jane.
    The storyteller's beads
    During the political strife and famine of the 1980's, two Ethiopian girls, one Christian and the other Jewish and blind, struggle to overcome many difficulties, including their prejudices about each other, as they make the dangerous journey out of Ethiopia.
    Educ. Res. PS 3561 .U77 S7 199
  • Ferreira, Anton.
    Zulu dog
    In post-apartheid South Africa, a Zulu boy keeps secrets from his family as he cares for an injured dog and befriends the daughter of a white farmer.
    Educ. Res. SELECT PS 3606 .E77