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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.

Carnival of the animals
Lithgow, John
A young boy sneaks off from a school field trip. He is left in the history museum overnight where he discovers his classmates, family, and acquaintances take on new forms.

Count on your fingers African style
Zaslavsky, Claudia
This beautifully illustrated four color picture book takes children through the markets, showing traditional finger counting of various African people - the Maasai, the Kamba, and the Taita in Kenya, the Zulu of South Africa, and the Mende of Sierra Leone. This book examines the role that numbers play in creating a common language across cultural boundaries.

First come the zebra
Barasch, Lynne
In the Kenyan grassland, Abaani, a Maasai boy takes his cattle out to graze. While he is out he sees a vegetable stand with a young boy from the Kikuyu farms, who are rivals of his tribe because they destroy their land. While arguing, a group of Kamba women and children approach to trade for fruits and vegetables, and one baby wanders toward three warthogs. Abaani sees this and knows he can save the baby himself so he calls to Haki to help. Together they save the boy, which is the beginning of a growing friendship. They learn how to appreciate one another and hope to teach their families to be friends.

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.

I lost my tooth in africa
Diakite, Penda
Amina and her parents take a trip to Mali to visit family. On the way, Amina realizes that her tooth is loose! While visiting her father's family, Amina loses the tooth and places it under a calabash tree. She receives a hen and a rooster from the African Tooth Fairy.


One child, one seed: A south african counting book
Cave, Kathryn
Play a simple counting game. Watch a pumpkin grow. Follow young Nothando and discover the rhythms of her daily life in her South African village.

Safari journal
Talbot, Hudson
Carey is a young boy who goes on vacation to Kenya with his aunt. While there he learns about the culture and all of the animals.

The cow that went oink
Most, Bernard
All of the animals on the farm laugh at the cow that says oink and the pig that says moo. This makes the animals feel badly about themselves. The cow and the pig decide to work together and teach each other what they know. In the end, they become the envy of all of the other animals on the farm.

The crippled lamb
Lucado, Max
A little lamb named Joshua has one leg that doesn't work well so he always limped when he walked. His best friend, Abigail, was an old cow who encouraged Josh with her voice in a kind and friendly way. Abigail also told Josh about God who has a special place for those who feel left out. When all the other sheep are moved to a new meadow, a shepherd tells Josh to go back to the stable and spend the night. Josh gains companions when a young woman with her baby, Jesus, is born in that stable. Even shepherds come to the door to see God's son.