A Sampling of African Focused Children's Picture Books

Just a short list. There are so many more! On a personal note: For You Are A Kenyan Child is set amongst the people I lived with while in Kenya and Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain is the actual location where I lived!

All of these books portray values, feelings, and attitudes that are universal, so share them with all your patrons, not just those of African descent. Karibuni! Enjoy!

Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears: A West African Tale by Verna Aardema
ISBN-10: 0140549056 $7.99. A wonderful folktale with beautiful illustrations.
Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain (Reading Rainbow Book) by Verna Aardema
ISBN-10: 0803708092 $7.99. A repetitive and growing poem with beautiful illustrations - from East Africa.
Anansi the Spider: A Tale from the Ashanti (An Owlet Book) by Gerald McDermott
ISBN-10: 080500310X $7.95. No African folktale collection can be without several Anansi stories.
A Story, a Story by Gail E Haley
ISBN-10: 0689712014 $7.99. A classic Anansi story about how stories came into the world.
For You Are a Kenyan Child (Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award) by Kelly Cunnane
ISBN-10: 068986194X $11.53. A Kenyan boy learns a lesson in responsibility.
Mama Panya's Pancakes: A Village Tale from Kenya by Mary Chamberlin
ISBN-10: 1905236646 $7.99. A Kenyan tale. Hospitality is very important in most African countries.
Zomo the Rabbit: A Trickster Tale from West Africa by Gerald McDermott
ISBN-10: 0152999671 $7.00. Another great trickster tale from West Africa.
Fire on the Mountain (Aladdin Picture Books) by Jane Kurtz
ISBN-10: 0689818963 $7.99. A folktale from Ethiopia.
Seven Spools of Thread: A Kwanzaa Story by Angela Shelf Medearis
ISBN-10: 0807573167 $6.95. This original tale (by the author) of seven brothers tells how the famous Kente cloth was created.
Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters (Reading Rainbow Book)
ISBN-10: 0688129358 $11.55. An African Cinderella story with beautiful illustrations - from Zimbabwe.
Masai and I by Virginia Kroll
ISBN-10: 0689804547 $6.99. An African-American girl compares her life to the life of a Maasai child's.
A Is for Africa by Ifeoma Onyefulu
ISBN-10: 0140562222 $5.99. Beautiful photographs of Africa and its people - from Nigeria.
Ashanti to Zulu: African Traditions (Picture Puffin Books) by Margaret Musgrove
ISBN-10: 0803703570 $6.99. A great nonfiction book that paints a picture of the many peoples and culture of Africa.
Africa Is Not A Country by Margy Burns Knight
ISBN-10: 0761316477 $9.95. The authors narrate the experiences of children at play, at school, and at home, and use realistic illustrations to explore the cultural, environmental, ethnic, and social diversity of the 53 countries that make up the African continent..
Jambo Means Hello: Swahili Alphabet Book (Picture Puffin Books) by Muriel Feelings
ISBN-10: 0140546529 $6.99. A great addition to your collection if you want to add in some language.
Moja Means One: Swahil Counting Book by Muriel L. Feelings
ISBN-10: 0140546626 $6.99. A companion book to Jambo Means Hello.
We All Went On Safari: A Counting Journey Through Tanzania by Laurie Krebs
ISBN-10: 184148119X $7.99. A counting tale through the wilds of Tanzania.
Journey to Jo'burg: A South African Story by Beverley Naidoo
ISBN-10: 0064402371 $4.99. A poignant tale of the apartheid in South Africa.
Only a Pigeon by Jane Kurtz
ISBN-10: 0689800770 $5.38. The story of a boy raising pigeons in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa.
Honey... Honey... Lion!by Jan Brett
ISBN-10: 0399244638 $11.55. Beautiful pictures of African animals from a well-known children's author.
Pinduli / Pinduli by Janell Cannon
ISBN-10: 0152046682 $14.81. Another great story with beautiful pictures set among the animals of Africa.
Water Hole Waiting by Jane, & Christopher Kurtz
ISBN-10: 0060298502 $12.74. Another story set on the African savanna.
African Animals ABC by Philippa-Alys Browne
ISBN-10: 1841483192 $7.99. Enjoyable pictures of African animals for young children.
Galimoto by Karen Lynn Williams
ISBN-10: 0688087892 $9.99. An African boy collects scraps of wire to make a galimoto --a toy vehicle. Although he encounters many obstacles in his search, Kondi's persistence is rewarded.
In the Small, Small Night by Jane Kurtz
ISBN-10: 0066238145 $11.55. Two African children comfort each other by remembering African folktales as they cope with their move to America.
Faraway Home by Jane Kurtz
ISBN-10: 0152000364 $11.90. A girl born in American hears from her father what his native country of Ethiopia is like.