The Brainstorm 170: International Reads Pt 1: Africa

We had International Day at our school a few weeks ago which is a celebration of the cultures and countries that are found in our very diverse student body. It got me thinking that I should share books found in various countries of the world and/or that celebrate and explore the various cultures of the world. I started writing down books for countries of the world, and the list quickly started to get massive. So I’m going to break this into several different Brainstorms. Each one will feature books that are primarily set in one region/country/culture (I’m not allowing myself to use books that like Around the World in 80 Days that hop around to multiple countries). I’ll also let region & culture have precedence over country (so Hawaiian culture books will be in the Australia & Oceania post instead of the North American post). When given many options, I’ve also tried to stick with historical or contemporary fiction, folklore, biographies, or nonfiction to provide books that are more authentic portrayals of the country and culture than a scifi or fantasy book set there would be. [Note: I've already gotten a few requests so after I finish this series I'll look at sharing fantasy/scifi books set in each continent in the future.] I’m also limiting myself to a max of 6 books per country (3 for lower grades, 3 for middle grades on up) because some of them have way, WAY too many books to list. And to save space, I’m not sharing reviews or summaries here, but you can click the titles and be taken to my summary/review, or in the cases that I haven’t read the book yet, to another description of the book. Today we’ll look at books set in Africa, then in the coming weeks I’ll devote a Brainstorm to each of the following: Asia, Australia & Oceania, Central America & the Caribbean, Europe & Eurasia, Middle East, North America, South America.

So, without further ado, here are a selection of fiction and nonfiction books for a variety of ages set in Africa

ANGOLA

Sub-Culture: Mbundu

Nzingha, Warrior Queen of Matamba (The Royal Diaries) by Pat McKissack
Genre: Historical Fiction, Middle Grade Fiction

BENIN

It Takes a Village by Jane Cowen-Fletcher
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Picture Book

BURKINA FASO

All Aboard for the Bobo Road by Stephen Davies, ill. by Christopher Corr
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Picture Book

The Water Princess by Susan Verde, ill. by Peter H. Reynolds
Genre: Biographical Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Picture Book

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

Chief of Station, Congo: Fighting the Cold War in a Hot Zone by Larry Devlin
Genre: Memoir, History, Adult Nonfiction

King Leopold’s Ghost by Adam Hochschild
Genre: History, Adult Nonfiction

The Last Rhinos: the Powerful Story of One Man’s Battle to Save a Species by Anthony Lawrence with Graham Spence
Genre: Memoir, Animal Stories, Nature, Adult Nonfiction

Monkey Sunday: a Story from a Congolese Village by Sanna Stanley
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Picture Book

Specific Congolese Culture: Nkundo

Traveling to Tondo: a Tale of the Nkundo of Zaire by Vera Aardema, ill. by Will Hillenbrand
Genre: Folklore, Picture Book

EGYPT

In a Perfect World by Trish Doller
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Young Adult Fiction

The Jewel Fish of Karnak by Graeme Base
Genre: Fantasy Fiction, Mythology, Fable, Picture Book

Mara, Daughter of the Nile by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance Fiction, Spy Stories, Young Adult Fiction

Marcy and the Riddle of the Sphinx (Brownstone’s Mythical Collection, #2) by Joe Todd-Stanton
Genre: Fantasy Fiction, Mythology, Graphic Novel, Lower Grade/Middle Grade Fiction

Red Nile: a Biography of the World’s Greatest River by Robert Twigger
Genre: History, Adult Nonfiction

Who Was King Tut? (Who Was/Is…?) by Roberta Edwards, ill. by True Kelley
Genre: Biography, History, Middle Grade Nonfiction

ETHIOPIA

Black Dove, White Raven by Elizabeth Wein
Genre: Historical Fiction, Young Adult Fiction

The Storyteller’s Beads by Jane Kurtz
Genre: Historical Fiction, Middle Grade Fiction

GHANA

Specific Ghanan Culture: Ashanti

Anansi the Spider: a Tale from the Ashanti by Gerald McDermott
Genre: Folklore, Picture Book

IVORY COAST

The Bitter Side of Sweet by Tara Sullivan
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Suspense Fiction, Young Adult Fiction

KENYA

Auma’s Long Run by Eucabeth A. Odhiambo
Genre: Historical Fiction, Young Adult Fiction

Born Free: the Full Story by Joy Adamson
Genre: Animal Biography, Memoir, Nature, Young Adult Nonfiction

Moto and Me: My Year as a Wildcat’s Foster Mom by Suzi Eszterhas
Genre: Animal Biography, Memoir, Nature, Lower Grade/Middle Grade Nonfiction, Picture Book

The Mystery of the Lion’s Tail (Greetings from Somewhere, #5) by Harper Paris, ill. by Marcos Calo
Genre: Mystery, Contemporary Fiction, Lower Grade Fiction

Owen & Mzee: the True Story of a Remarkable Friendship by Isabella Hatkoff, Craig Hatkoff, and Paula Kahumbu, photos by Peter Greste
Genre: Lower Grade/Middle Grade Nonfiction, Animal Stories, Picture Book

Rare Earth (Marc Royce, #2) by Davis Bunn
Genre: Suspense Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Religious Fiction, Adult Fiction

LIBERIA

Specific Liberian Culture: Kru

Quest for the Lost Prince: Samuel Morris (Trailblazer Books) by Dave & Neta Jackson, ill. by Julian Jackson
Genre: Biographical Fiction, Historical Fiction, Religious Fiction, Middle Grade Fiction

MADAGASCAR

The Pirate’s Son by Geraldine McCaughrean
Genre: Adventure Stories, Historical Fiction, Sea Stories, Young Adult Fiction

Thea Stilton and the Madagascar Madness (Thea Stilton, #24) by Thea Stilton, translated by Emily Clement
Genre: Adventure Stories, Mystery, Lower/Middle Grade Fiction

MALI

The Hatseller and the Monkeys: a West African Folktale by Baba Wagué Diakité
Genre: Folklore, Picture Book

MAURITANIA

The Children of Mauritania: Days in the Desert and at the River Shore by Lauren Goodsmith
Genre: Biography, Lower Grade Nonfiction, Picture Book

MOROCCO

King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry, ill. by Wesley Dennis
Genre: Animal Stories, Historical Fiction, Middle Grade Fiction
*Parts also in France and England

The Storyteller by Evan Turk
Genre: Folklore, Picture Book

NAMIBIA

Chasing Cheetahs: the Race to Save Africa’s Fastest Cat (Scientists in the Field) by Sy Montgomery, photos by Nic Bishop
Genre: Animal Stories, Biography, Nature, Science, Middle Grade/Young Adult Nonfiction

The Elephant Scientist (Scientist by Caitlin O’Connell & Donna M. Jackson, photos by Caitlin O’Connell & Timothy Rodwell
Genre: Animal Stories, Autobiography, Nature, Science, Middle Grade/Young Adult Nonfiction

NIGERIA

The Distant Talking Drum: Poems from Nigeria by Isaac Olaleye, ill. by Frané Lessac
Genre: Poetry, Lower Grade Nonfiction

Genius: the Con (Genius, #2) by Leopold Gout
Genre: Suspense Fiction, Young Adult Fiction
*Parts also in India

Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky by Elphinstone Dayrell, ill. by Blair Lent
Genre: Folklore, Picture Book

Specific Nigerian Culture: Ibo

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Genre: Historical Fiction, Adult Fiction

SOUTH AFRICA

The Elephant Whisperer: My Life with the Herd in the African Wild by Lawrence Anthony with Graham Spencer
Genre: Memoir, Animal Stories, Nature, Culture, Science, Adult Nonfiction
*Note: there is also a young reader’s adaptation of this book available

The Great Penguin Rescue: Saving the African Penguins by Sandra Markle
Genre: Disaster & Rescue Stories, Animal Stories, Nature, Middle Grade Nonfiction

Journey to Jo’burg: a South African Story by Beverly Naidoo
Genre: Historical Fiction, Middle Grade Fiction

Living in…South Africa by Chloe Perkins, ill. by Tom Woolley
Genre: Lower Grade Nonfiction, Picture Book, Leveled Reader

Mama Africa!: How Miriam Makeba Spread Hope with Her Song by Kathryne Erskine, ill. by Charly Palmer
Genre: Picture Book Biography

Nelson Mandela (National Geographic Kids Readers. Level 3) by Barbara Kramer
Genre: Biography, Lower Grade Nonfiction

SUDAN

The Red Pencil by Andrea Davis Pinkney, ill. by Shane W. Evans
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Novel in Verse, Middle Grade Fiction

TANZANIA

Untamed: the Wild Life of Jane Goodall by Anita Silvey,
Genre: Biography, Animal Stories, Nature, Science, Middle Grade Nonfiction

TUNISIA

Benny and Omar by Eoin Colfer
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Middle Grade Fiction

ZAMBIA

The Elephant Keeper: Caring for Orphaned Elephants in Zambia by Elizabeth Ruurs, ill. by Pedro Covo
Genre: Memoir, Animal Stories, Nature, Lower Grade/Middle Grade Nonfiction, Picture Books

ZIMBABWE

Do You Know Me by Nancy Farmer, ill. by Shelley Jackson
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Lower Grade Fiction

I Will Always Write Back: How One Letter Changed Two Lives by Caitlin Alifirenka & Martin Ganda with Liz Welch
Genre: Biography, Young Adult Nonfiction
*Parts also in USA

Now Is the Time for Running by Michael Williams
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Sports Stories, Young Adult Fiction
*Parts also in South Africa