Month: April 2020

The problem is that, unfortunately, those that write in African languages remain invisible, their works are hardly ever reviewed or translated. Publishing venues are limited and getting published is one of the most infuriating challenges of writing in African languages. There are hardly any publishing houses devoted to African languages. So writers in African languages are writing against great odds: no publishing houses, no state support, and with national and international forces aligned against them. Prizes are often given to promote African literature but on the condition that the writers don’t write in African languages.”
– Nanda Dyssou, An Interview with Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, Los Angeles Review of Books, 23 April 2017 

While it’s important for everyone to read literature from around the world, if you are of African descent, it’s a great idea to give your child an understanding of the various cultures in the continent early in their life. This is especially important if you don’t live in the continent currently. With that being said, here are five African children’s books that we recommend.

The problems that readers encounter when visiting libraries are legion and diverse: the lack of updating of the collection, the absence of online information on the collections, the absence of books on African realities, the lack of professional librarians, the bad faith of some readers and the commodification of reading services.

Skin We Are In is a landmark South African book for children (and grown-ups) on the subject of skin colour. Published in 2018, it was co-authored by an artist and a scientist, both South African luminaries – the author Sindiwe Magona and the anthropologist and palaeobiologist Nina Jablonski. Here they talk about how – and why – the book came about.