Contents:

1.  Selecting Books on Africa by Barbara B. Brown, Ph.D. 
2. Sankofa: A Journal of African Children's and Young Adult Literature
3. African Studies Association Award Winning Books 
• Mollel, T. (1999). My Rows and Piles of Coins.
• Daly, Nikki (1999). Jamela's Dress.
• Njeng, Pierre Yves (1999). A Vacation in the Village.
• Ahiagble, G., Meyer, L., & Hernandez, N. (1998). Master Weaver from Ghana.
• Paye, W. & Lippert, M.H. (1998). Why Leopard Has Spots: Dan Stories from Liberia.
• Wilson-Max, K. (1998). Halala  Means Welcome: A Book of Zulu Words.
• McKee, T. & Blackhaw, A. (1998). No More Strangers Now: Young Voices from a New South Africa.
• Naidoo, B. (1997). No Turning Back: a Novel of South Africa.
• Kurtz, Jane & Christopher. (1997). Only a Pigeon
• Sisulu, E. (1996). Day Gogo Went to Vote.
• Feelings, T. (1995). Middle Passage.
• Rappaport, D. (1995). New King
• Hoffman, M. (1995). Boundless Grace.
• Mollel, T. (1995). Big Boy
• Sisulu, E. (1996). Day Gogo Went to Vote.
• Hansen, J. (1994). The Captive.
• Cowen-Fletcher, J. (1994). It Takes a Village.
• McKissack, P. & F. (1994). The Royal Kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai.
• Rupert, J. (1994). The African Mask.
• Wisniewski, D. (1992). Sundiata: Lion king of Mali. 
• Anderson, D. (1991). The Origin of Life on Earth: An African Creation Myth.
• Rosen Publishers (1991). Apartheid: Calibrations of Color

• Mollel, T. (1999). My Rows and Piles of Coins. New York: Clarion Books. 

Winner of the 2000 African Studies Association Children's Book Award

Subject: Tanzania / East Africa / Fiction

Summary: A Tanzanian boy saves his coins to buy a bicycle so that he can help his mother carry goods to market, but then he discovers that in spite of all he has saved, he still does not have enough money.

Reviewer: Brenda Randolph, Africa Access 

In 1995 author Tololwa Mollel and illustrator, E.B. Lewis created Big Boy, a charming fantasy about a Kiswahili-speaking child with magical powers. Named an Honor book by the African Studies Association, the picture book provided a realistic framework for the boy's mythical adventures in and around a Tanzanian town. Their delightful new collaboration, My Rows and Piles of Coins is also set in Tanzania. In this story, the protagonist is a Maasai boy, living in a rural northern area. Drawing on his childhood, Mollel has fashioned a story that is universal in appeal and particular in details. Most children's books about the Maasai reinforce stereotypes by highlighting exotic information about the lifestyles of cattle-keeping Maasai. This book provides a refreshing look at the more typical experiences of a family engaged in farming and trade. Father grows an export crop (coffee), mother markets other crops, and their son 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. 

Periodically he counts his coins, placing them in rows and piles. 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. This is a wonderful book to share with children. The setting is authentic, the characters are admirable, and the resolution is inspiring and noble. Saruni is a boy to emulate. Like his parents, he is kind, generous, and good-natured. The story also 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. Lewis' muted illustrations complement and extend the text. As always, his careful research of place and people is reflected in his pictures. A glossary of Maasai terms and author's note about Tanzanian currency complete the book. Every elementary school will want a copy of this one.

• Daly, Nikki (1999). Jamela's Dress. Farrar, Straus & Giroux. New York.

"Notable Book" of the 2000 African Studies Association Children's Book Award

Subject: South Africa / Fiction 

Summary:
Jamela, a young South African girl, gets in trouble when she takes the material intended for a new dress for Mama, parades it in the street, and allows it to become dirty and torn.

Review: None Available.

• Njeng, Pierre Yves (1999). A Vacation in the Village. Njeng Boyd's Mill Press (1999). 

"Notable Book" of the 2000 African Studies Association Children's Book Award

Subject: Cameroon / West Africa / Fiction

Summary:
A boy discovers and takes pride in the customs of his people when he visits his family's village.

Reviewer:
Donnarae MacCann, University of Iowa

Traveling from city to countryside is not a deep subject, but it serves as an ideal springboard for Pierre Yves Njeng, an accomplished colorist, in Vacation in the Village. His town-to-country storyline becomes a richly visualized excursion. As for the narrative journey, it highlights small tensions confronted by young children, as, for example, when they face the unknown. Njeng treats these tensions respectfully. His young hero, Nwemb, leaves behind friends and toys to visit grandparents in the interior. His fears about loneliness and boredom are soon dispelled since the family has arranged for a boy to meet his train and become a constant companion. From this point, the tale is a "buddy" story - a chronicle of boys fishing, tree-climbing, and crafting toys from bamboo. Beyond such simple pleasures, Njeng introduces less tangible satisfactions: the closeness within an extended family, the generosity that accompanies friendship (Nwemb's new buddy presents him with a pet turtle), the special coziness of wood fires, kerosene lamps, and grandfather's tales of ancestors and forest magic. Life for a child in Cameroon is a good life whether it means an urban school, modern kitchen, and automated toys, or, on the other hand, a corn field, forest, and fishing hole. Urban and rural settings have beauties of their own, and over all is the beauty of a caring family. These settings and characters are a good starting point, but the essential language of a painter is visual. Njeng uses a palette of rich colors and paints bold and delicate shapes as a means of producing the warmth and solidarity of his theme. Using this pictorial technique, he highlights body language rather than facial detail (as, for example, in his orchestration of human figures and the limbs of an enormous tree). Additionally, he lets bits of white serve as accents, as in a pair of shorts and especially in the many patterned textile designs in garments, bedclothes, and curtains. Nothing interferes with this overall aesthetic conception. All viewers (young and old) can join in appreciating Njeng's painterly proficiency and radiant personal style (although the publisher pinpoints ages four to eight as the primary age range). Looking at this book in a larger context, I must add that Njeng's work is a welcome antidote to the books with an anti-African bias. Njeng's treatment of African experience is far removed, for example, from the condescending caricatures that populate Niki Daly's Not So Fast, Songololo (1985) and Charlie's House(1989). Daly's work emphasizes backwardness, incompetence, and low aspirations in indigenous South Africans. His White-over-Black subtexts override his attempts at humor. Yulisa Amadu Maddy discussed in 1995 the problems in Charlie's House "The message here focuses on . . . the so-called `backwardness' of a boy who revels in the creations he can make from mud . . . Is it true that Africans are content to live in squalor and play in open sewers?" (p. 125). In contrast to Daly, Pierre Yves Njeng is true to a multicultural perspective. As a Black artist with African subjects and settings, he joins Veronique Tadjo from Cote d'Ivoire (Lord of the Dance, 1988) and African American artists John Steptoe (Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters, 1988), Terea Shaffer (illustrator of Angela Shelf Medearis's The Singing Man, 1994), and Kathleen Atkins Wilson (illustrator of David A. Anderson/SANKOFA's The Origin of Life on Earth: An African Creation Myth, 1993). E. B. Lewis (illustrator of T. Obinkaram Echewa's The Magic Tree: A Folktale from Nigeria , 1999). American artists should be recognized as among the standard bearers for African picture books. 

Work Cited Maddy, Yulisa Amadu. "Through African Eyes: An Interview with Yulisa Amadu Maddy About RecentPicture Books" in African Images in Juvenile Literature: Commentaries on Neocolonialist Fiction by Yulisa Amadu Maddy and Donnarae MacCann. Jefferson: NC: McFarland and Co., 1996. (Originally published in the Wilson Library Bulletin, June, 1995.) Copyright (c) 2000 by H-Net, all rights reserved. This work may be copied for non-profit educational use if proper credit is given to the author and the list. For other permission, please contact H-Net@h-net.msu.edu.

• Ahiagble, G., Meyer, L., & Hernandez, N. (1998). Master Weaver from Ghana. Seattle, WA: Open Hand Publishing.

Winner of the 1999 African Studies Association Children's Book Award

Subject: Ghana/ West Africa / Art / Kente cloth / Hand weaving / Ewe

Summary:
A contemporary male weaver from Ghana explains how his people maintain the tradition of weaving, including an explanation of the strip weaving of Kente cloth and its importance in their Ewe culture.

Review: None Available.

• Paye, W. & Lippert, M.H. (1998). Why Leopard Has Spots: Dan Stories from Liberia. Golden, CO: Fulcrum Publishing. (il.Ashley Bryan).

Winner of the 1999 African Studies Association Children's Book Award

Subject: Liberia / West Africa / Folklore

Reviewer:
Kathryn, Z. Weed, Department of Learning, Literacy, and Culture. California State University - San Bernardino

Why Leopard Has Spots presents six of the oral tales that Won-Ldy Paye (pronounced One Day Pay) heard from his storyteller grandmother are presented in this collection. Three of them, including "Why Leopard Has Spots," "Mrs. Chicken and the Hungry Crocodile," and "Why Spider has a Big Butt" are pourquoi tales explaining the reasons for phenomena such as the leopard's spotted coat, chicken's bathing in puddles, and spider's distinctive shape. The other three-"The Talking Vegetables," "The Hunger Season," and "Spider Flies to the Feast" feature the trickster Spider and his (mis)adventures. Some of the stories have morals, others are for entertainment. Each story is about three pages long, except for the 8-page "Spider Flies" which, as Won-Ldy explains in the afternotes, is a story that has "no head and no tail" because it can go on forever. Each story is dramatically illustrated by Ashley Bryan's black-and-white linoleum prints. For anyone interested in African tales, this book is a "must-have." The stories in themselves are delightful to read both silently, and, since they spring from the oral tradition, aloud. But in addition to the stories, the book is a treasure-trove of information. Won-Ldy presents himself in the Introduction and briefly takes us through his life growing up in Tapita in northeastern Liberia. He introduces us to his family, the "tlo ker mehn" (story-tellers), and specifically his grandmother. There is a map which locates Liberia in Africa and Tapita in Liberia. After the stories, Won-Ldy again talks to us, giving general information about Dan stories and then information about each story individually. The following Glossary not only includes definitions, but also provides explanations of elements of the Dan culture, for example, the "Great Spirit", the most important spirit to the Dan, and her role in the community is described, accompanied by a photograph. "Ma kpon", a Dan counting game, is not only described but is also explained so that readers could try it out themselves. Palm nuts play an important role in the community as evidenced by the explanation of their harvest and procedures to make palm oil. For further reading about the Dan, Liberia, and African-American games for children, a Bibliography is provided. Lastly, there are interesting biographies of the two authors and the illustrator. I highly recommend this book. It is appropriate for elementary and middle school readers, although high school readers interested in branching out to new cultures would find this an excellent beginning for background in a specific African group. Copyright © 1999, H-Net, all rights reserved. This work may be copied for non-profit educational use if proper credit is given to the author and the list. For other permission questions, please contact hbooks@h-net.msu.edu.

• Wilson-Max, K. (1998). Halala Means Welcome: A Book of Zulu Words. New York: Hyperion Books.

"Notable Book" of the 1999 African Studies Association Children's Book Award

Subject: South Africa / Fiction

Reviewer: Mark P. Snyders, Howard Pim Library, University of Fort Hare.

This book is wonderfully illustrated with its bold colors and images. Children will find it particularly interesting, since the characters illustrate the Zulu words while at play. The book also contains a useful glossary which will show children how to pronounce the Zulu words (a little knowledge of Zulu pronunciation is necessary here though). This book is recommended for children between the ages of 3 and 7 years as well as for older children and adults starting to learn Zulu. The author does accomplish his mission of teaching Zulu words, but the book lacks any cultural emphasis. Neither of the two characters have traditional names (Michael and Chidi), the meanings of which should have been explained. Although Zulu is correctly identified as a language spoken in South Africa, it is in fact one of eleven official languages spoken of which Zulu is mainly spoken on the east coast. These shortcomings are minor. Overall, this is a really great book for kids, and for parents and teachers to read to them. This work may be copied for non-profit educational use if proper credit is given to the author and the list. For other permission questions, please contact hbooks@h-net.msu.edu.

• McKee, T. & Blackhaw, A. (1998). No More Strangers Now: Young Voices from a New South Africa. New York: DK Ink Book.

"Notable Book" of the 1999 African Studies Association Children's Book Award

Subject: South Africa / Apartheid

Summary:
In their own words, a variety of teenagers from South Africa talk about their years growing up under apartheid, and about the changes now occurring in their country.

Reviewer:
Manelisi Genge <gengeman@pilot.msu.edu>, Department of History, Michigan StateUniversity, East Lansing

This book is written by two persons from diverse academic backgrounds: McKee, a teacher and a journalist, and Blackshaw, an anti-apartheid activist, a former women's and civil rights advocate in the California legislature, and a photographer. Thus, the book itself could not be easily classified according to the academic disciplines: it is neither history nor an English novel. Educators at Middle and High schools might find this book useful in teaching multiculturalism or diversity. The work is based entirely on the interviews with twelve teenagers representing various ethnic backgrounds of the South African society. The interviews were conducted by Tim McKee and Anne Blackshaw mainly in English and to some extent with the help of a translator for informants who preferred to express themselves in any of the many South African languages. The data was collected over a ten-month period, between 1996 to 1997. This book borrows its title from a poem by one of the renowned South African poets, Mongane Wally Serote, No More Strangers. The suitable audience for this work is both Middle School (ages 12-14), and High School (ages 15-18) students. The object of the book is captured in its authors' view, "we chose the twelve teens you will meet here not only because they came from a wide range of social, economic, ethnic, and geographic backgrounds, but also because they were able to speak openly about their experiences under apartheid and their attempts to carve out a role for themselves in the new South Africa" (p. xvi). In this sense, this book has managed to identify "the ordinary," to borrow Njabulo S. Ndebele's phrase, in the voices of the teenagers. And by so doing, it departures from a tradition of mainstream writing of the era of apartheid where the state and the white establishments in general occupy the center stage. It does not only focus on how teenagers experienced the apartheid era and on their views of the emerging post-apartheid South Africa, but also puts these teenagers at the center of the story as its narrator. Here, we see how the creation of space for teenagers to tell us their experiences and expectations in their own words, could provide us with a window to their world-view, instead of adults imposing theirs on teenagers. This work also breaks away from the genre of the literature of resistance or struggle against white domination in South Africa. Being the exception for this kind of literature, the authors are not concerned about the "other" in the shape of the all powerful minority white government. Instead, the book is concerned with how these teenagers have survived the apartheid era and how they perceive their future in the country. In this sense, these teenagers view themselves as "the generation that's the bridge from the previous South Africa to a new one" (p. xiv). The Introduction-written in simple, lucid language-provides a useful historical background of the country. The book's text also includes many pictures, which complement the main story. Teenagers from other countries will find it interesting to read narrators' tales on some things universal to teenagers' view on life. The work also provides us with a glimpse of the concept of ubuntu, which is interwoven through the expressions of its main actors. The former Archbishop Desmond Tutu defines ubuntu as "the essence of being human ... It embraces compassion and toughness. It recognizes that my humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together" (quoted by the authors of this book, p. xvii). In the post-apartheid South Africa, this concept of ubuntu is viewed as one of the foundations upon which reconciliation is to be forged. Then, indeed, if the teenagers in the country share such a view, there is reason for some of us to be optimistic about the future of the country, in spite of its ugly and inhuman past. This book has received the blessings of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who has written its foreword. This is not surprising, for the book adds an aspect to Tutu's task of presiding over the recently completed work of the Truth and the Reconciliation Commission (TRC), a statutory body established by President Nelson Mandela's government in 1994 to investigate the gross human injustices or violations of the past during the struggle against apartheid governments. The book partially chronicles the experiences of the teenagers, that do not fall within the category of the gross human violations during the apartheid era-as defined in Tutu's terms of reference for his TRC. By so doing, it provides its informants with a forum from which to express their past experiences and optimism about the future, a platform which was not provided for in Tutu's TRC. (The report of Tutu's TRC came out toward the end of 1998). The work could have benefited from insights of other published works. Although it is interesting to read about what one would call "teenagers' naiveté" and enthusiasm as captured in this work, it is also important to recognize that such teenager naiveté and enthusiasm usually give way to other established ways or norms of life. To put it differently, teenagers ought to be made aware of other societal forces which mold and shape their views about life, as they become older. And the work under review has failed to provide its audience with such forces. And this stems from the point that the authors of this work neglect any published works from which to illuminate their story. Teenagers could make fundamental changes in their lives as grown-ups, if they have a background knowledge of what they want to transform and how others before them have either attempted to do so, failed to do so or did not try to change anything at all. Therefore, both the actors of this story and the larger audience, especially teachers who would wish to use this book in their classes, could overcome this book's deficiency by reading some of the following works: Ndebele as cited above; J.M. Coetzee, Waiting for the Barbarians, New York: Penguin Books, 1982 edition; Bloke Modisane, Blame Me on History, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1990 edition; and (though not concerned with South Africa, it has relevance to the era under discussion) Lillian Smith, Killers of the Dream, New York: W.W. Norton, 1978 edition. There are other minor and technical aspects of the book which I would like to draw our attention to: On certain parts this book employs dated phrases such as "nonwhite" (p. xv). It would be helpful to readers to periodize, that is, to insert dates of the events on the paragraph which begins with the word, But, on (p. 2). I am of the opinion that the correct spelling is "Nofezile," instead of "Nofozile" (p. 30). The latest orthography is "isiXhosa," instead of "Xhosa" (p. 38). The South African government unbanned the anti-apartheid organizations in 1990, and not in 1991 (p. 46). "Afrikaners" instead of "Afrikaans" (p. 98). There is no need to write the word, "white," since there is a reference to the British and Afrikaners (pp. 97-98). Of course, it could be pointed out that these two groups were not the only whites in South Africa. The authors should write, "apartheid is" instead of "apartheid's" (p. 100), and insert the word, "of," in "I think people ... my age" (p. 101). This reviewer is troubled by the use of the term "New" when referring to post-apartheid South Africa. I have discussed my reservations on this usage elsewhere. (See my review for H-AfrTeach from June 1998, on Tim Nuttal, et al., From Apartheid to Democracy: South Africa, 1948-1994.) When does a country become new? Notwithstanding the above shortcomings of this work, I would recommend it for teaching multiculturalism or diversity to High School students with South Africa as a case study. It opens up a new kind of literature in post-apartheid or post-colonial South Africa which targets teenagers as its audience. However, the book ought not to be taken as a textbook on South African history, for it lacks historical grounding. It would be helpful for both teachers and students to read it together with one or more supplementary materials, for example, including the ones I have mentioned above. This work may be copied for non-profit educational use if proper credit is given to the author and the list. For other permission questions, please contact hbooks@h-net.msu.edu.

• Naidoo, B. (1997). No Turning Back: a Novel of South Africa. New York: HarperCollins.

Winner of the 1998 African Studies Association Children's Book Award

Subject: South Africa / Fiction

Reviewer: Patricia S. Kuntz, Madison, Wisconsin

Beverley Naidoo has written many books about adolescents growing up in South Africa. Her own experience as a privileged youth in apartheid South Africa led her to re-evaluate her own values and to become involved in anti-apartheid activities that led to exile in England. No Turning Back addresses the problems of post-apartheid South Africa. Although a new regime governs the country, changes in the economy, society, and education have not filtered down to the poor as quickly as anticipated. Young adolescent boys still find that poverty and crime in the townships are too much to endure. Sipho like other boys flees Soweto and goes to middle class neighborhoods in Johannesburg where he can live with a group of young sidewalk entrepreneurs. To stave off the cold temperatures, Sipho begins to (inhale) "iglue." Sipho's second job involves advertising T-shirts in front of "Danny's Den." His payment is in kind (food, lodging, and schooling) rather than money. Despite his improved lifestyle, this arrangement keeps him still dependent. Finally, Sipho goes to a shelter where he can live and attend school, he returns to Soweto only to visit his mother. No Turning Back contains a hopeful message for South African youth. As one of the few novels about adolescents in new South Africa, it portrays Nelson Mandela's vision through Sipho for a more tolerant country. Sipho feels confident that he will land a good job and contribute to the racial and economic integration of the country.

• Kurtz, Jane & Christopher. (1997). Only a Pigeon. New York: Simon & Schuster. (il. E.B. Lewis).

Winner of the 1998 African Studies Association Children's Book Award 

Subject: Ethiopia / Fiction / East Africa

Summary:
This is a warm and wonderful picture book about Ondu-ahlem, a young boy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia who makes raising pigeons the centerpiece of his life. One unique aspect of this story is the wealth of information on domesticated pigeons. However, a word of caution about pigeon feeding is necessary.
 

Reviewer: Brenda Randolph, Africa Access

Jane Kurtz is the author of several fine picture books about the Horn of Africa including Fire On The Mountain, Pulling The Lion's Tale And Trouble. Only a Pigeon, co-authored with her brother Christopher, is another winner. It is a warm and wonderful story about Ondu-ahlem, a young Ethiopian boy who makes raising pigeons the centerpiece of his life. Ondu-ahlem is a resourceful boy who lives in the poorer section of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital city. The absence of toys appears to have stimulated rather than hampered Ondu-ahlem's creativity. He builds a comfortable environment for his pigeons and trains them to head for home when released. Ever vigilant, he protects them from creatures such as cats and mongeese that view a fat pigeon as simply a good meal. His love for pigeons helps him transcend his physical surroundings and the long hours he works after school as a shoe shine boy. The unique aspect of this story is the wealth of information on domesticated pigeons. According to Alfred Goodwein, a pigeon fancier who has raised these birds for over forty years, the text and pictures accurately depict various aspects of pigeon behavior and care. The competitive yet bonding relationship shown between Ondu-ahlem and his friends who raise pigeons also struck a familiar chord. However, Goodwein issues a word of caution about a practice shown in the story. The book depicts Ondu-ahlem using his own mouth to feed grain to an orphaned baby pigeon. This practice can lead to the transmission of moniliasis or candidiasis; a yeast infection pigeons can transmit to humans. Goodwein recommends the use of an eye-dropper and hand-feeding to accomplish the task instead. Aside from this, the authors have done a good job of imparting pigeon lore. The depiction of urban life in Ethiopia is outstanding. Their experience in Ethiopia (they spent their childhoods in the country) gives their work a level of authenticity rarely seen in picture books on Africa. The illustrator, E.B. Lewis, who beautifully illustrated Jane Kurtz's Fire On The Mountain, has done an excellent job with this book as well. Dr. Messay Kebede, an Ethiopian, describes Lewis' muted watercolor paintings as "familiar" and "very characteristic" of life in Addis Ababa. In sum, this is an accurate and touching snapshot of life in Ethiopia. Educators and parents can use it to balance the pictures of famine and war that have dominated Western images of Ethiopia. A glossary of the Amharic terms used in the story is included. 

• Sisulu, E. (1996). Day Gogo Went to Vote. Boston: Little, Brown & Co. (il. Sharon Wilson)

Winner of the 1997 African Studies Association Children's Book Award

Subject: South Africa / Fiction

Summary:
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 vote for the first time.

Reviewer: Lesego Malepe, Wheaton College

April 26, 1994, was the day of South Africa's first democratic elections. This is the moving story of that historic day told through the eyes of a six-year-old girl, Thembi, who accompanies her grandmother, Gogo, to vote for the first time. It captures vividly and in simple but powerful language the magic of that day. The book will appeal to a child's easy sense of wonder. People went to great lengths to vote. Everyone is surprised when Gogo, who had not left the house for a long time announced she was going to vote. It is a moment everyone has been waiting for. When Gogo says she wants to vote everyone tries to discourage her since she is frail, but Gogo insists, and asks, "You want me to die not having voted?" Gogo says she will vote, "no matter how many miles I have to walk, no matter how long I have to stand in line." The whole community is involved; a rich neighbor gives Gogo a ride in his car. At the polls, everybody cheers because, at 100 years old Gogo is the oldest voter. This beautifully illustrated book not only captures an important moment; it also shows a community and how people are connected. It is also hopeful. Whereas in the old days, when Gogo went to the pensions office she was treated rudely, in the new South Africa she is treated with the respect due someone her age. The book ends with parties and Gogo's picture in the paper. Both children and adults will enjoy this touching story. 

• Feelings, T. (1995). Middle Passage. New York: Dial.

Winner of the 1996 African Studies Association Children's Book Award

Subject: Africa / Diaspora / Slavery

Summary:
This powerful and evocative book of the passage of captives from Africa to the Americas is sure to be the basis of much thinking and discussion.

Reviewer: (not specified)

This powerful and evocative book is sure to be the basis of much thinking and discussion. The preface by the artist is a moving account of the thoughts, feelings and experiences that went into what he describes in Paule Marshall's words: "the psychological and spiritual journey back in order to move forward". He felt compelled to tell, in the medium he knew best, the story of Africans torn from their home, their pain, their strength, and the joy that endured despite the suffering. John Henrik Clarke brings his considerable academic knowledge to the introduction. His words bear the stamp of that authority while they vividly convey the experience of the slaves in the middle passage, an experience that left as indelible a stamp on captain and crew as it did on the human cargo. Neither of these short texts can be read without a sense of anger and horror. It is the paintings themselves that will stay in readers' minds. Anyone who has been to Africa knows that color is its essence. These black, white and gray scenes have a dreamlike quality, evoking the nightmare of Africa's worst time. The picture story begins with relatively realistic scenes of raids on villages. As people are led away from their homes in chains the paintings become more complex. The white slavers are nearly ghostlike, their cruelty both manifestly real and symbolic of all evil. As the journey progresses, the symbolism in the paintings reaches new levels. A cross-section of the ship, with its cruelly cramped cargo is shown cradled in the arms of an African mother; the top view of the ship, showing in outline the crowded bodies chained down with only inches between them, is seen propelled forward, borne by a chained African man. The cramped, terrible conditions continue; people die, still chained to the barely living. Some rebel, many more die. This is a book that will challenge all readers. It must be read; it must be talked about. It won't be easy.

• Rappaport, D. (1995). New King. New York: Dial. (il. E.B. Lewis)

Winner of the 1996 African Studies Association Children's Book Award

Subject: Madagascar / Southern Africa / Folklore

Summary: Young Prince Rakoto learns to cope with his father's death.

Review: Not Available.

• Hoffman, M. (1995). Boundless Grace. New York: Dial. (il. Caroline Binch) 

"Notable Book" of the 1996 African Studies Association Children's Book Award

Subject: Gambia / West Africa / Fiction / Diaspora

Summary:
In this sequel to Amazing Grace, young Grace goes to visit her father and his new family in Gambia, West Africa.

Reviewer: Brenda Randolph, Africa Access

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 but multi-layered story of direct and subtle messages. The obvious message is that "families are what you make them." The more subtle message suggests 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. Grace does a lot of growing in this story. She overcomes jealousy, homesickness, and the fragmented feeling children in separated families often experience. Caroline Binch's expressive illustrations perfectly mirror Grace's emotions. Grace is the central character of the book and children will naturally focus on her actions and feelings. Teachers will have to help students see the heroic role the adults play in the story. After reading the story, the teacher might ask the children to study the adults and explain how each acted in Grace's best interest. The book can also spark a discussion about the various types of families. Grace is disturbed by books that show only one type, a mother, a father, a boy and a girl. At the conclusion of her trip to Gambia, she resolves to find books about families like hers and write her own story. Students can follow Grace's example by identifying books that showcase alternative families and they can write their own stories as well. Teachers will also have to help students see commonalties between Gambia and the U.S. 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. It is gratifying, however, to see a beautifully illustrated book that depicts an African country in a non-stereotypical and authentic manner. According to the book blurb, Binch traveled to Gambia twice to collect images for the illustrations. Her effort to achieve authenticity is evident to Gambians. Howard University professor Sulayman Nyang, a former resident of Banjul, found the illustrations accurate in almost every detail. This is a carefully crafted book. Succinct text, wonderful illustrations, and a much needed message make Boundless Grace a winner.

• Mollel, T. (1995). Big Boy. New York: Clarion. (il. E.B. Lewis)

"Notable Book" of the 1996 African Studies Association Children's Book Award

Subject: Tanzania / Fiction

Summary:
Little Oli wants to be big enough to go bird hunting with his older brother but has to take a nap instead. Through the assistance of the magical Tunukia-zawadi bird, he becomes very big indeed.

Reviewer: Patricia S. Kuntz, Madison, Wisconsin

Tolowa Mollel belongs to one of Tanzania's minorities, the Maasai. Although he now lives in Canada, he has written several children's picture books about folktales that he heard in his youth. These include The Orphan Boy, Rhinos for Lunch and Elephants for Supper!, The King and the Tortoise, and The Flying Tortoise. This story is a common tale describing the results of a wish that becomes out of control. Big Boy illustrates the struggles with which younger siblings have to contend. In this story Oli wants to go bird hunting with his older brother instead of having to take a nap. Through the assistance of the Tunukia-zawadi bird, he becomes very big indeed. The outcome of Oli's wish to be bigger rather than older, subjects him to difficult situations. He learns a lesson concerning making unrealistic wishes. As a good storyteller, Mollel incorporates several important literary devices. First, he includes a supernatural animal -the Tunukia-zawadi bird - that makes Oli's transformation possible. Second, Mollel uses the sound of a drum to punctuate Oli's adventures. In addition, Mollel introduces young readers to Swahili through some common vocabulary. After all, Swahili is the official and national language of Tanzania. For teachers of Swahili, this book can be incorporated into a lesson on the family, folktales, or community. In the future, Mollel might consider a bi-lingual text English - Swahili. The watercolor illustrations of E.B. Lewis are realistic. He captures the feel and details of rural Tanzanian communities. The illustrations complement the text. Highly Recommended.

• Hansen, J. (1994). The Captive. New York: Scholastic.

Winner of the 1995 African Studies Association Children's Book Award

Subject: Ghana / West Africa / Asante / Slavery / Diaspora / Fiction

Reviewer: (not specified)

This perceptive historical novel contrasts two cultures, the Asante kingdom of Ghana and New England during the era of slavery. Inspired by the life of Olaudah Equiano (captured in the 18th century in what is now Nigeria), the novel tells the story of Kofi, a young boy who was kidnapped in what is now Ghana and enslaved in the U.S. One gains a sense of the comfortable life Kofi led in his homeland before he was captured and the wrenching pain he feels when he is torn away and crammed onto a slave ship. As Kofi describes his life in the new land, readers gain an interesting perspective of life in America and are able to contrast and compare the two cultures.

• Cowen-Fletcher, J. (1994). It Takes a Village. New York: Scholastic.

Winner of the 1995 African Studies Association Children's Book Award

Subject: Benin / West Africa / Fiction

Summary:
On market day in a small village in Benin, Yemi tries to watch her little brother Kokou and finds that the entire village is watching out for him too.

Review: Not Available.

• McKissack, P. & F. (1994). The Royal Kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai. New York: Henry Holt.

"Notable Book" of the 1995

African Studies Association Children's Book Award

Subject: Ghana / Mali / Songhay / Sudanic kingdoms / History

Summary:
A superb historical study of the western Sudan's middle period. The text is conceptually comprehensive, well-written, and sufficiently illustrated. It should be vigorously promoted as a principal text for students in secondary school. The text is accurate, reliable, even in its treatment of controversial topics, and objective in its overall approach.

Review: Not Available.

• Rupert, J. (1994). The African Mask. New York: Clarion Books.

"Notable Book" of the 1995 African Studies Association Children's Book Award

Subject: Nigeria / Historical fiction / Yoruba

Summary:
Set nine hundred years ago in the ancient city of Ife, this novel intertwines a young girl's quest to be true to her talents with a richly detailed look at Yoruba culture and history.

Reviewer: Akinwumi Ogundiran, Boston University

African Mask tells a story about the Yoruba and makes lucid descriptions of their culture through the adventures of a girl, Layo, who grew up in the village of Abiri and came to the city of Ife with her grandmother. The one hundred and twenty-five page storybook consists of twelve chapters. In each chapter, the twelve year-old Layo is used as a 'mask' to reveal different facets of Yoruba traditions and culture. This young girl, talented in pottery-making and with a passion to become a great potter like her grandmother, is the main character of the story. The dominant theme which the book illustrates is traditional family life and marriage institution among the Yoruba, pointing out some of the features of polygons family life, and division of labor based on gender and age. Through the world of Layo's grandmother, we also know of the Yoruba respect for old age and the high value attached to hard work and skill. The important place of Ifa, the god of divinity, in decision-making among the Yoruba is also coherently presented although in a simplified fashion. For example, the decision of Layo's parents to allow her to go to Ife was based on the approval of the Ifa oracle. Success and progress are exalted and appreciated but boastful attitude is highly abhorred. Modesty is therefore considered a point of emphasis in the African Mask. One of the enriching qualities of the book is that it takes on the role of social commentator at convenient stages of the story. In pages, 46, 52, 56, and 104-106, the author examines the traditional practice of 'slave' ownership in ancient Yoruba society. The difference in the concept and practice between the Yoruba situation and the later practice of slavery on the other side of the Atlantic is perhaps the reason the author prefers to use the Yoruba word "eru" rather than the literal and inadequate translation in English-language, "slave." Moreover, in a subtle and sensitive manner, the positive and negative aspects of polygyny are examined. Lack of pictures in the book is compensated for by the explicit and dramatic descriptions of places and events by the author. With Layo and her cousin, the reader is taken on a historical excursion around Ife with visits to the monumental palace of the king, the market and the Oranyan staff. 

We also learn of the techniques of bronze-casting by the "lost-wax" method. The highlight of the concluding chapter is the dramatic description of the judicial system of the Yoruba which is shown to be of three hierarchical levels. In ascending order, they are the family compound, the quarter, and the city, respectively presided over by the compound head, the quarter chief, and the Oba (king). The pageantry of the kingship institution is also vividly described. African Mask is set in the context of Yoruba historical and cultural reality which dates to the beginning of this millennium. The story is, however, not restricted to the historical past, it adequately reflects the present. Abiri is real, it is a flourishing village about twenty-five kilometers from Ife. Ile-Ife, the proper and full name of the city, has grown beyond its ancient walls and has been the home of a modern university in southwest Nigeria for the past 30 years. Yet, Ife maintains its traditional aura as the center of the Yoruba world and place of origins of their civilization. The Oranyan staff is still standing; Ita Yemoo compound is still existing; the grandeur of the palace and its arts continues to be an enigma to visitors and the indigenes alike. Families of artists who practiced arts and crafts 1000 years ago continue to carry on the tradition. In these and other ways, Janet Rupert weaves the fabrics of the 8th and 20th century Yoruba culture together as a continuum of adaptive and manipulative entity. The story of Layo, her ambitions, and her concerns about marriage will also find many parallels in the lives of many present Yoruba young women. The organization of the book is superb. The arrangement of themes in each chapter and the style of writing make the book adaptable for stage-plays. This book will be of optimal use in the classrooms if students act out different portions. It is a splendid medium to learn in a simple way, many facets of Yoruba culture. For middle school pupils, teachers and adults, who are new to Yoruba studies, it is a doorway which will lead to further inquiries on many aspects of Yoruba culture: dancing and music, folklore and history, divinity, the institution of eru and pawnship, the political system, arts and crafts, poems, the belief system and religion, the family system and polygyny, residential patterns, the place of women in society and above all, the history of origins of the Yoruba. These and many other themes are skillfully narrated in simple words. 

That the author could open so many windows into Yoruba culture within such a short novel is an important achievement. What is much more amazing is that she does it so well. As a Yoruba and student of Yoruba studies, I find the book to be a realistic reflection of Yoruba culture and lifeways. I therefore strongly recommend the book for use in schools. It is an outstanding contribution to the expansion of the frontiers of African Studies in America. Janet Rupert is to be commended for a job well done, particularly considering that before writing this book she had never lived within a Yoruba cultural area.

• Wisniewski, D. (1992). Sundiata: Lion king of Mali. New York: Clarion Books.

Winner of the 1993 African Studies Association Children's Book Award

Subject: Mali / West Africa / Sundiata

Summary:
The story of Sundiata, who overcame physical handicaps, social disgrace, and strong opposition to found the empire of Mali in the thirteenth century.

Review: Not Available. (See the ORIAS page on this West African epic at http://orias.berkeley.edu/hero/sunjata/

• Anderson, D. (1991). The Origin of Life on Earth: An African Creation Myth. Philadelphia: Sights Production. (il. Kathleen Atkins).

Winner of the 1992 African Studies Association Children's Book Award

Subject: Folklore / Mythology / Yoruba / Nigeria / West Africa

Summary:
This beautifully illustrated picture book tells of the adventures of Obatala, a Yoruba deity who descends from the sky to create the world.

Reviewer: Maureen N. Eke, Michigan State

David Anderson weaves an incredibly wonderful tale in his retelling of The Origins of Life on Earth. This story is based on the Yoruba creation myth. At last, we have a very good rendition of this story that is readable by children and adults alike. I recommend it for every child (K-12). The story is so dramatically told that it draws its reader to the imaginary world it creates. Obatala represents what is human in all of us - - children's inquisitiveness and desire for adventure. The author and illustrator demonstrate their sensitivity to some of the current issues in the society today, such as gender and multiculturalism. The introduction provides a necessary background 
for locating the story culturally and geographically. My suggestion is to add a map of Africa with Nigeria or Ife (the home of the Yoruba) identified. It is not enough to mention "west and north of the Niger" delta without showing the region on a map, as some of these readers may not know where the Niger is in the first place. This weakness not withstanding, the book is well done. The non-gender specific nature of the "all powerful" Olurun is commendable, for it emphasizes the need to recognize that powerful figures can belong to either gender. Appreciation is shown for all kinds of people, whether they have twisted legs, partial fingers, complete body parts or plugged ears. The authors suggest the common origin of all people. In addition to the wonderful narrative, the book is dramatically well illustrated. Kathleen Wilson, expresses the current desire for an affirmation of African roots within the African American community through a splash of colors that brings to life the beautiful designs of African textiles. Not only is the story endearing, but also the colorful illustrations are so well coordinated that one can almost "see" the beautiful shades of the African landscape. This book is highly recommended.

• Rosen Publishers (1991). Apartheid: Calibrations of Color. New York, NY: Rosen Publishers.

"Notable Book" of the 1992 African Studies Association Children's Book Award

Subject: South Africa / Literature / Apartheid / Southern Africa

Summary:
An assemblage of short stories, plays, photographs, and essays about South Africa.

Reviewer: Brenda Randolph, Africa Access

This assemblage of short stories, plays, photographs, and essays provides a penetrating and pithy look at South Africa. The book opens with Norma Kitson's "Masimba," a boisterous selection that ridicules South Africa's "homeland" policy. The book ends with "Don't Dance," a description of the founding and fortunes of "Shifty Records," a recording company that provides an outlet for banned music. Sandwiched between these two pieces are works that provide a representative sampling of the life experiences of the oppressed of South Africa. An additional and valuable contribution is Frank Brown's riveting account of the student divestment campaign at Columbia University. Also, Zoe Wicomb provides a look at the international dimensions of apartheid in her poignant,"In the Botanic Gardens." For historical balance there is Achmat Dangor's "Places of Stone." This short story examines social and economic relationships engendered by slavery. It explodes the myth of a "benign" slave system in colonial South Africa. This excellent volume should find widespread use in secondary schools.