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These are some of our favorite books that feature African culture for children and teens. Please note that the books will be found in three different collections: Easy, Juvenile, and Teen. The Teen book selections include Teen Middle and Teen High books.
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The Heart Never Forgets
by Ana Otaru
Attending the first West African masquerade without Grandpa, with each member of the family carrying something that honors him, a young girl brings with her a special memory shared only between the two of them.
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Waiting to Welcome
by Samantha Cleaver
As her Ghanian family prepares for a whole week to welcome her new baby cousin at a celebration called "outdooring", Andani waits patiently to perform the most important job of all: being the first to greet the little one by name.
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There Was a Party for Langston
by Jason Reynolds
This finger-snapping, toe-tapping ode to the Word King and literary genius Langston Hughes invites readers to a party at the Schomberg Library where Maya Angelou, Amiri Baraka, and others arrive to recite poems at their hero's feet.
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Naming Ceremony
by Seina Wedlick
It is time for her baby sister's naming ceremony, and Amira has a name picked out, but as friends and family pronounce the names they have brought, Amira starts to wonder if her chosen name is really the blessing she thought it was.
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Red Shoes
by Karen English
Delighted when her Nana surprises her with a beautiful pair of red shoes that they admired in a shop window, Malika happily wears her wonderful shoes until outgrowing them and then decides to donate them to a resale shop, from where they travel across the world to Africa to become a gift for a another child's first Ramadan.
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B is for Baby
by Atinuke
A baby and her brother take a basket full of bananas to visit their baba, and the baby sees many different animals along the way, including butterflies, birds, and baboons
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Wangari's Trees of Peace: A True Story from Africa by Jeanette WinterWhen she returns to her childhood home in Kenya and sees that the whole forest around her village is being cut down, courageous and determined Wangari starts planting trees in her own backyard and ends up in the midst of a movement that is respected around the world. Note: This book is shelved in the Easy Nonfiction section. |
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Papa Do You Love Me? by Barbara M. JoosseWhen a Maasai father in Africa answers his son's questions, the boy learns that his father's love for him is unconditional, in a follow-up to Mama, Do You Love Me?
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Note: This book is shelved in the Easy Nonfiction section. |
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The Best Friend Bracelet
by Nicole D. Collier
A tender, funny story about making and keeping friends finds 12-year-old Zariah wanting friends of her own and accidentally crafting a magical friendship bracelet that turns anyone who wears it into her best friend, with disastrous and hilarious results!
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Once in a Blue Moon
by Sharon G. Flake
In 1939, James Henry must find his way back into his own life by confronting the truth about what happened the night his mother died and, when a blue moon is forecast, he discovers anything is possible under this rare moon.
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Daughters of the Lamp
by Nedda Lewers
While in Egypt for her uncle's wedding, Sahara Rashad, who lives by logic and has never believed in magic, embarks on an adventure of a lifetime when her late mother's necklace leads her to Ali Baba's magical treasure and the discovery of her true legacy.
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Mwikali and the Forbidden Mask
by Shiko Nguru
12-year-old Mwikali is moving to a new school in Nairobi and just wants her life to be normal. But when she meets Soni, Odwar, and Xirsi who reveal that she is descended from an ancient bloodline of legendary Kenyan warriors, all hope of a normal life fades. Now, with an array of malign forces massing, Mwikali must delve deep into the past to discover her ancestry, learn to harness her extraordinary powers, and enter a race against time to defeat a village elder who has turned to dark magic in an effort to gain ultimate power.
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Freewater
by Amina Luqman-Dawson
After escaping Southerland Plantation with his little sister, 12-year-old Homer becomes part of a secret community called Freewater, where he finally finds a place to call home and the courage to go back and free his mother from enslavement.
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Good Luck, Anna Hibiscus!
by Atinuke
During the dry, dusty winter season in Nigeria, Anna Hibiscus prepares to visit her grandmother in Canada, where she will see snow for the first time but will be sad to leave the big family she loves behind.
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When Stars are Scattered
by Victoria Jamieson
A Somali refugee who spent his childhood at the Dadaab camp and the Newbery Honor-winning creator of Roller Girl present the graphic-novel story of a young refugee who struggles with leaving behind his nonverbal brother when he has an opportunity to help his family by going to school.
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One Hen: How One Small Loan Made A Big Difference by Katie Smith MilwayInspired by actual events, a picture book tells the story of Kojo, a boy from Ghana, who, with a very small loan from his mother, started a tiny poultry farm and earned enough money to return to school--and make a better life for his family.
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The Red Pencil
by Andrea Davis Pinkney
After her village is attacked by militants, Amira, a young Sudanese girl, flees to a refugee camp, where she finds hope and the chance to pursue an education in the form of a single red pencil and the encouragement of a wise elder.
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The Great Cake Mystery: Precious Ramotswe's Very First Case
by Alexander McCall Smith
Considering a future as a detective years before the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency is established, 8-year-old Precious Ramotswe investigates the disappearance of a piece of cake when she believes that a young boy has been wrongly accused of stealing it as well as perpetrating a series of playground thefts.
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One of the Good Ones
by Maika Moulite
When teen social activist and history buff Kezi Smith is killed under mysterious circumstances after attending a social justice rally, her devastated sister Happi and their family are left reeling in the aftermath. As Kezi becomes another immortalized victim in the fight against police brutality, Happi begins to question the idealized way her sister is remembered.
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Not an Easy Win
by Chrystal D. Giles
Nothing has gone right for twelve-year-old year old Lawrence since his Pop went away, but after getting expelled from school for fighting he discovers the world of chess and things begin to change.
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Ghost Boys
by Jewell Parker Rhodes
After seventh-grader Jerome is shot by a white police officer, he observes the aftermath of his death and meets the ghosts of other fallen black boys including historical figure Emmett Till.
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Their Vicious Games
by Joelle Wellington
Blacklisted from her top choice Ivy League college, prestigious Edgewater Academy scholarship student Adina Walker participates in the Finish, a high-stakes competition whose prize of wealth and power can open any door, only to find that she's playing for her life.
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The Girl in the Lake
by India Hill Brown
When strange things begin to happen while staying at her grandparents' lake house, Celeste spies a twisted version of herself in the mirror and must discover who this girl is and what she wants before it's too late.
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Iyanu: Child of Wonder by Roye OkupeA teenage orphan with no recollection of her past, suddenly discovers that she has abilities that rival the ancient deities told in the folklore of her people.
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Children Of Blood And Bone by Tomi AdeyemiComing of age in a land where her magi mother was killed by the zealous king's guards along with other former wielders of magic, Zélie embarks on a journey alongside her brother and a fugitive princess to restore her people's magical abilities.
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Steeplejack
by A. J. Hartley
Repairing roof fixtures in an alternate world resembling Victorian South Africa, Anglet Sutonga investigates the death of an apprentice while caring for her sister's baby against a backdrop of racial tensions, political secrets, and a historical icon.
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by Linda Sue Park
When the Sudanese civil war reaches his village in 1985, eleven-year-old Salva becomes separated from his family and must walk with other Dinka tribe members through southern Sudan, Ethiopia, and Kenya in search of safe haven. |
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