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My name is sangoel
Williams, Karen Lynn//Mohammed, Khadra
Sangoel feels homesick after leaving his Sudanese homeland where his father died in the war. With his mother and sister, Sangoel arrives to the United States to start a new life where they learn so many things about technology, escalators, cooking stoves, and televisions. With a clever use of writing in his new school classroom, Sangoel helps his teacher and classmates learn how to pronounce his name. He will always be a Sangoel just like "his father and grandfather and his father" before him in Africa.

Seven spools of thread
Medearis, Angela
Whether working on their family farm or eating dinner, the seven Ashanti brothers always fight amongst themselves to the dismay of their father. However, when their father passed away, the seven Ashanti brothers were tasked with creating gold from seven different color spools of thread. After completing this seemingly impossible task by working together, the brothers taught their community the value of the lessons they learned.

A day with daddy
Girimes, Nikki
A young African American boy living with his mother spends the day with his father. They spend time together doing a variety of activities that leave the boy satisfied with his life.

Sense pass king: A story from cameroon
Tchana, Katrin
Ma'antah is an exceptional girl who has many abilities, such as cooking and talking to animals. The villagers call her Sense Pass King because she has more sense than the king. The king is frustrated by her and tries to kill her but she outsmarts him. Later, she works in the palace and is able to make the country better.

Big jabe
Nolan, Jerdine
Momma Mary goes back in time and tells stories of a unique young man named Jabe, who is responsible for creating magic among the slaves of the Plenty Plantation. He is described as a hero with the strength of fifty men, a big heart, and a wondrous gift at leading slaves away to freedom.

Why the chameleon had two toes
Mashiri, Pascal
An older woman, named Gogo Senne, tells interesting stories to the children of a small, quiet South African village. She weaves the mythical take of how the chameleon got his two toes and red eyes. Read about the value of strong friendships, the importance of trust, communication and respecting each other.

The golden rain
Mashiri, Pascal
A young child learns from his mother's stories about decision making and choices. He comes to understand that choices make some people happy and leave some disapointed. The child also realizes that help is sometimes needed for the decision making, but ultimately it is up to the individual.

Talking
Xaba-Mashiri, Zadwa
A man digs out a talking yam from his garden. The man is confused and asks his dog if he is talking, but the dog says it is the yam talking. The man runs to the village to tell people about the talking yam and dog. People do not believe the man until things starts talking to them.

In the time of the drums
Siegelson, Kim L.
Mentu and Twi tell the story of an African family newly arrived in the Americas. Twi never gives up on returning to her native Africa. Twi tells stories of cooking, planting, music and dancing from her native land.

A country far away
Gray, Nigel
This is a story comparing two young boys who live in Africa and the United States. Their lives are identical even though they live in different countries.

I saw your face
Dawes, Kwame
A poem and child portraits illustrate the shared beauty and heritage of African people living throughout the world.

Two friends: A story from Zambia
Mashiri, Pascal
Two friends need sleep. Unfortunately, snoring becomes a problem for one of them. The friend that solves the problem doesnメt get the sleep.

Bashi, elephant baby
Radcliffe, Theresa
As the sun rises over the African plain, the mother elephant and her newborn calf, Bashi, follow the herd down to the watering hole. But they are not alone, for the water has drawn some lionesses to the edge to drink and they are looking hungrily at Bashi.

My great-grandmother's gourd
Kessler, Cristina
Residents of a Sudanese village rejoice when a traditional water storage method is replaced by modern technology, but Fatima's grandmother knows there is no substitute for the reliability of the baobab tree.

The first bear in africa
Ichikawa, Satomi
The animals of the African savanna help Meto as he tries to return the toy bear left behind by a young tourist.

The heart of the lion
Watson, Pete
An American boy comes to understand and admire the rich culture and traditions of West Africa.

Drumbeat in our feet
Keeler, Patricia//Leitao, Julio T.
Informative passages and lyrical verse explore the history and rhythmic qualities of traditional African dance as performed long ago and today.

Ashanti to zulu: African traditions
Musgrove, Margaret
Explains some traditions and customs of twenty-six African tribes beginning with the letters from A to Z.

The old Africa
Lester, Julius
An elderly slave uses the power of his mind to ease the suffering of his fellow slaves and eventually lead them back to Africa


Bintou's braids
Diouf, Sylviane
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.

Emeka's gift: An african counting story
Onyefulu, Ifeoma
As Emeka sets off to visit his grandmother in the next village, he wonders what he can take her for a present. He passes through the market and sees lots of things Granny would like - there were four brooms, five big hats to keep the sun off, six necklaces, eight water pots. But with no money, Emeka can not buy anything. Will Granny understand?

Ogbo: Sharing life in an african village
Onyefulu, Ifeoma
Ogbo are a special part of village life in Nigeria, uniting children of the same age in a lifelong fellowship - a group with whom they celebrate festivals, share day-to-day chores, and face the challenges of growing up. A young girl named Obioma helps us understand what belonging to an ogbo means. Growing, working, and relaxing together, the ogbo weave the fabric of village life.

A child story in a south african city
Wulfsohn, Gisele
Presents a day in the life of a child living in Johannesburg, discussing the social life, customs, religion, history, and language of South Africa.


Wild animals of Africa, abc
Ryden, Hope
African animals are photographed in alphabetical order ranging from aardvark to zebra.

A triangle for Adaora: An African book of shapes
Onyefulu, Ifeoma
When Adaora's cousin promises to find a triangle for her, he does'nt realize just how difficult the task might be. As they search through their village, the cousins encounter a variety of other shapes - heart-shaped leaves, circular elephant drums, crescent-shaped plantains - everything but the shape they seek. Just when the children are too tired to look anymore, they find a perfect triangle...and a great surprise to go along with it!

Africa brothers and sisters
Kroll, Virginia
At lunchtime Daddy and Jesse play their favorite game: a question and answer game about people who live in Africa and the ways in which they are connected to Jesse.

Jamari's drum
Bynum, Eboni//Jackson, Roland
Jamari grows up drawn to the beating of the djembe, the keeper of the peace, the great drum of his Mali village. Jamari grows older and becomes the drummer of the djembe. He eventually gets caught up in other aspects of village life. When the village is once again threatened by the nearby angry mountain, Jamari returns to his post as drummer for village peace.

Boundless grace
Hoffman, Mary
According to the stories Grace read, her family is not normal. Grace's father lives in Africa while she and her mother live in America. Grace visits her father to learn about his new family and the African culture in Gambia. Grace's visit to Africa helps her to understand that her family is normal.

African beginnings
Haskins, James//Benson, Kathleen
Come explore and celebrate the powerful impact people of African descent have made on world history and on the American experience.

Song of the boat
Graham, Lorenz
An African father and a son from West Africa build a boat from a special tree. They work together to find the perfect tree to use.

Can you hear the sea?
Cumberbatch, Judy
Sarah's grandpa gives her a special shell and says if she listens carefully she can hear the sea, but all she hears are every day village noises.

This is the way we eat our lunch
Baer, Edith
Time for lunch! What will it be? Come along - let's taste and see! Journey across the world as children eat lunch. Discover many new foods and recipes you can make and eat.

Madoulina: A girl who wanted to go to school: A story from south africa
Bognomo, Joel Eboueme
Madoulina has dreams of becoming a doctor. She doesn't, however, go to school because her mother needs her to sell fritters in the marketplace to earn money. Madoulina meets her brother's new teacher, who convinces her mom to find a way to let her go to school.

Monkey for sale
Stanley, Sanna
Two little girls in Africa look forward to their village market day in the Congo. They must make wise choices for their spending. They make initial purchases, but later find a monkey they want to rescue. They creatively work together to find a solution.

Where are you going manyoni?
Stock, Catherine
Manyoni, a little girl living near the Limpopo River in Zimbabwe, sees many different animals and wildlife on her walk to school.

Bitter bananas
Olaleye, Isaac
Yusuf is a boy who lives in a jungle in Africa. His favorite drink is palm sap, and he sells what he doesn't drink. A family of baboons begins to steal his sap, so he tries many things to keep the baboons away.

The wisdom bird: A tale of Solomon and Sheba
Oberman, Sheldon
Queen of Sheba, the wisest woman in the world, travels to Jerusalem after hearing about King Solomon, the wisest man in the world. She hopes to learn something new, but after asking for a palace made out of bird beaks, they both learn something important. This folktale is derived from Jewish, African and Biblical tales.

Earth mother
Jackson, Ellen
The day begins by Mother Earth tending to her plants and animals. As the day progresses, Mother Earth comes upon a man, a frog, and a mosquito. Each tell Mother Earth what can be changed in their life.

The hunter
Geraghty, Paul
Jamina goes looking for honey in the bush with her grandfather. She hopes to see an elephant, but her grandfather tells her that it is not likely since the hunters have come. Jamina tells her grandfather that she wants to be a hunter. When she helps a little elephant whose mother was shot by hunters, she realizes she never wants to be a hunter.

A is for africa
Onyefulu, Ifeoma
The author, a member of the Igbo tribe in Nigeria, presents text and her own photographs of twenty-six things, from A-Z, representative of all African peoples.

Food and festivals: West Africa
Brownlie, Alison
Describes the West African culture of food, including the kinds of food grown and eaten, and various feast days like Ramadan, Easter, naming ceremonies, and yam festivals.

Galimoto
Williams, Karen Lynn
Kondi needs wire to make his galimoto, the word in Malawi Africa which means car. He thinks of clever ways to make his galimoto in the shape of a car. He falls asleep imagining what shape he might twist it into the next day.

Somewhere in Africa
Mennen, Ingrid//Daly, Niki
A boy named Ashraf lives in a city in South Africa. He compares the city to the countryside of Africa.

Elephant moon
Letord, Bijon
In the plains of Eastern Africa, elephants live in great open spaces, eat many different things, and share their land with lots of other animals. The elephants take care of each other and are beautiful and peaceful animals.

The talking cloth
Mitchell, Rhonda
Aunt Phoebe has a collection of many wonderful things, each having an interesting story. The little girl's favorite thing is an adinkra cloth from Ghana. It has many colors and symbols to represent feelings, faith, power, and love.

To be a drum
Coleman, Evelyn
Daddy Wes whispers to his two young children about the history of Africans forced into slavery and how the pulse of the drum has moved through them over time. Daddy Wes promises his children that as long as they can hear the heartbeat of the earth, they will be free.

Somebody has done it, why can't you?
Annoh, G. Kwesi
Two sisters in Ghana pursue their dreams of becomming career women. They receive help from their parents and teachers, and work hard to study math and science. Abena becomes a mathematician and Akousa becomes a medical officer in public health.

African dancing
Thomas, Mark
Children explore African dance with music and movement.