A booklist inspired by every African country
February 8, 2021
Senior Distance Tutoring Coordinator
Cecilia Herrera currently serves as an AmeriCorps senior distance tutoring coordinator for Reading Partners Seattle. While attending a full-day training on race, diversity, equity, and inclusion, Cecilia became particularly inspired by one of the speakers, Anita Koyier-Mwamba, who encouraged her and other educators to teach students from the highest heights of students’ culture and not their deepest despairs.
Emboldened by the speaker and a year of learning about the race equity, diversity, and inclusion work at Reading Partners, Cecilia felt compelled to take action. She took the initiative to expand her knowledge about the world and embarked on the Africa Research Project with fellow distance tutoring coordinator, Maiya Mosteller, and Reading Partners intern, Sarah Miller.
The group’s final Africa Research Project culminated in a 500+ slide deck outlining each African country and facts about the region. They also chose a book for each country that is either set in that country, about that country, or written by an author who is from that country.
Cecilia, Maiya, and Sarah walked away from the project with a renewed sense of curiosity about the world and cultures around them, and realizing that there was so much they would have never known about the diverse and beautiful continent and its inhabitants had they not taken the time to learn.
Featured below is the complete booklist from the Africa Research Project, alphabetized by country.
54 books representing 54 African countries
ALGERIA
Fantasia: An Algerian Cavalcade by Assia Djebar
My Father’s Shop by Satomi Ichikawa
ANGOLA
Nzingha: Warrior Queen of Matamba, Angola, Africa, 1595 by Patricia McKissack
BENIN
The Adventures of Obi and Titi: The Great Walls of Benin by O.T. Begho
BOTSWANA
Ostrich and Lark by Marilyn Nelson
BURKINA FASO
The Water Princess by Susan Verde
BURUNDI
Bisha of Burundi by Mary Louise Clifford
CABO VERDE
Seaside Dream by Janet Costa Bates
CAMEROON
Snow Flower and the Panther by Fleurie Leclerco
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
Stories from the Central African Republic by Philomene Koya
CHAD
Calabash Cat and His Amazing Journey by James Rumford
COMOROS
Country Jumper in Comoros by Claudia Dobson-Largie
CÔTE D’IVOIRE
Akissi: Tales of Mischief by Marguerite Abouet
THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
Traveling to Tondo: A Tale of the Nkundo of Zaire by Verna Aardema
DJIBOUTI
Country Jumper in Djibouti by Claudia Dobson Largie
EGYPT
What’s the Matter, Habibi? By Betsy Lewin
EQUATORIAL GUINEA
Moon Over Bioko: Sea Turtles of Bioko Island by Hedid Rader
ERITREA
Trouble by Jane Kurtz
ESWATINI
All the King’s Animals: Return of Endangered Wildlife to Swaziland by Cristina Kessler
ETHIOPIA
The Perfect Orange: A Tale from Ethiopia by Frank P. Araujo
GABON
Young Artists of the World: Gabon by Jacquilline Touba
THE GAMBIA
One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia by Miranda Paul
GHANA
The Ghanaian Goldilocks by Dr. Tamara Pizzoli
GUINEA
The Three Little Birds by Saran Kaba
GUINEA-BISSAU
Welcome to Guinea-Bissau: Kids Travel Journal
KENYA
Mama Panya’s Pancakes: A Village Tale from Kenya by Mary and Rich Chamberlin
LESOTHO
One Round Moon and a Star for Me by Ingrid Mennen
LIBERIA
Why Leopard Has Spots: Dan Stories from Liberia by Won-Ldy Paye and Margaret H. Lippert
LIBYA
The Shadows of Ghadames by Joelle Stolz
MADAGASCAR
Under the Baobab Tree by Julie Stiegemeyer
MALAWI
Galimoto by Karen Lynn Williams
MALI
I Lost My Tooth in Africa by Penda Diakité
MAURITANIA
The Children of Mauritania: Days in the Desert and by the River Shore (The World’s Children) by Lauren Goodsmith
MAURITIUS
In Dodoland by Alexandra Schaub and Pascale Siew
MOROCCO
Naseem’s Journey by Anjuli Farmay
MOZAMBIQUE
Freeda the Cheetah by JTK Belle
NAMIBIA
The 3 Little Dassies by Jan Brett
NIGER
Niger: Enchantment of the World by Barbara A. Somervill
NIGERIA
Chicken in the Kitchen by Nnedi Okorafor
REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
Monkey Sunday: A Story from a Congolese Village by Sanna Stanley
RWANDA
Banna and Bree: Blown to Rwanda by Karen Cross
SÃO TOMÉ AND PRĺNCIPE
A Cage Without Bars by Anne Dublin
SENEGAL
Sofie and the City by Karima Grant
SEYCHELLES
Save Mango! by Agnes Karlsson and Gilla Holmberg
SIERRA LEONE
The Bite of the Mango by Mariatu Kamara
SOMALIA
The Lion’s Share by Said Salah Ahmed
When I Get Older: The Story Behind “Wavin’ Flag” by K’Naan
SOUTH AFRICA
Somewhere in Africa by Ingrid Mennen and Niki Daly
SOUTH SUDAN
Just Add Water by Robin Hill and Charles O Hall
SUDAN
Brothers in Hope: The Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan by Mary Williams
TANZANIA
My Rows and Piles of Coins by Tololwa M. Mollel
TOGO
The Cow-Tail Switch and other West African Stories by Harold Courlander and George Herzog
TUNISIA
Arafat: A Child of Tunisia by Alain Gioanni
UGANDA
A Good Trade by Alma Fullerton
ZAMBIA
Beautiful Blackbird by Ashley Bryan
ZIMBABWE
Kuenda Kumusha by Sydney Zifodya
Thank you to Cecilia Herrera, Maiya Mosteller, and Sarah Miller for their incredible work on the Africa Research Project.
Related Stories
See All PostsOctober 23, 2024
Books to help kids understand climate change
October 23, 2024
More books to help start a democracy dialogue with kids
