Children's Africana Book Award

On a humid March night in 1957, Kwame Nkrumah made history. While thousands of people cheered, including dignitaries from round the world, he announced his country's independence. After many years of British rule, Ghana, formerly the Gold Coast, became...

A Junior Library Guild Selection! On June 16, 1976, Hector Pieterson, an ordinary boy, lost his life after getting caught up in what was supposed to be a peaceful protest. Black South African students were marching against a new law requiring that they...

"Trees are living symbols of peace and hope." -Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace laureateWangari Maathai changed the way the world thinks about nature, ecology, freedom, and democracy, inspiring radical efforts that continue to this day.This simply told story...

African Proverbs for All Ages is a beautifully-illustrated, engaging picture book about the power of proverbs, how they evolve over time, and the wisdom of various cultures in Africa.It has been said that a proverb is a short sentence based on long...

Winner, Children's Africana Book Award - Best Book for Older Readers For young Kariuki, life in a small village in central Kenya is one great adventure. And when he meets Nigel life becomes even more interesting. Nigel is from England and he has come to...

As she teaches her granddaughter to sew a traditional sweetgrass basket, a grandmother weaves a story, going back generations to her grandfather's village in faraway Africa. There, as a boy, he learned to make baskets so tightly woven they could hold the...

"A remarkable story of resilience, faith, and hope." -- School Library Journal (starred review) Inspired by a true account, here is the compelling story of a child who arrives in America on the slave ship Amistad--and eventually makes her way home to...

Inspired by true events, One Hen tells the story of Kojo, a boy from Ghana who turns a small loan into a thriving farm and a livelihood for many. After his father died, Kojo had to quit school to help his mother collect firewood to sell at the market...

Now a Netflix film starring and directed by Chiwetel Ejiofor, this is a gripping memoir of survival and perseverance about the heroic young inventor who brought electricity to his Malawian village. When a terrible drought struck William Kamkwamba's tiny...

This beautifully illustrated story connects past and present as a girl bakes a chocolate cake with her father and learns about her grandfather harvesting cacao beans in West Africa. Chocolate is the perfect treat, everywhere! As a little girl and her...

Juma is excited to go fishing with his grandfather, Babu Ali. But when they get to the beach, they find the sand covered in plastic pollution--flip-flops, plastic straws, toothbrushes, bottles, and shopping bags. One of the flip-flops floating in on a...

Exploring the diaspora experience, race, politics, and identity, Listen, Layla is an own voices novel for young readers, bursting with passion, humor, and truth. What's a queen to do when her summer plans go horribly wrong? A powerful, funny, and timely...

"Trees are living symbols of peace and hope." -Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace laureateWangari Maathai changed the way the world thinks about nature, ecology, freedom, and democracy, inspiring radical efforts that continue to this day.This simply told story...

From Los Angeles Times Book Prize Award winner and Edgar Award nominee Malla Nunn comes a stunning portrait of a family divided and a powerful story of how friendship saves and heals. When Amandla wakes up on her fifteenth birthday, she knows it's going...

For fans of Linda Sue Park and A Long Way Gone, two young boys must escape a life of slavery in modern-day Ivory CoastFifteen-year-old Amadou counts the things that matter. For two years what has mattered are the number of cacao pods he and his younger...

The newest novel by the author of Akata Witch and the Marvel comic book series about Shuri, Black Panther's sister! "The most imaginative, gripping, enchanting fantasy novels I have ever read!" --Laurie Halse Anderson, New York Times bestselling author...

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard SelectionThe 2024 Skipping Stones Honor AwardsA 2024 IBBY Honour List SelectionA 2023 Charlotte Zolotow Award Honor BookWinner of the 2022 South African Literary Awards Children's Literature AwardHonorable mention,...

Join Baby and his doting mama at a bustling southwest Nigerian marketplace for a bright, bouncy read-aloud offering a gentle introduction to numbers. Market is very crowded.Mama is very busy.Baby is very curious.When Baby and Mama go to the market, Baby...

Don't miss Elizabeth Wein's stunning new novel, Stateless Emilia and Teo's lives changed in a fiery, terrifying instant when a bird strike brought down the plane their stunt pilot mothers were flying. Teo's mother died immediately, but Em's survived,...

Join Baby and his doting mama at a bustling southwest Nigerian marketplace for a bright, bouncy read-aloud offering a gentle introduction to numbers. Market is very crowded.Mama is very busy.Baby is very curious.When Baby and Mama go to the market, Baby...