24th Annual
Children’s Africana Book Awards

 Saturday October 8, 2016

11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Free and open to the public
Author Talks, Art Activities, Storytelling, Face Painting

Smithsonian National Museum of African Art
950 Independence Avenue Southwest, Washington, DC 20560
Washington, DC

AWARDS DINNER,  Friday October 7, 2016

RSVP

6:00 pm      Tickets  $50.00 per person
Busboys & Poets  5th & K Streets, NW
More Info

BEST BOOKS

Young Children		Older Readers
Nigeria	Kenya	Ethiopia	Africa
by Nnedi Okorafor  Mehrdokht Amini	by Franck Prévot Aurélia Fronty	by Elizabeth Wein	by Beverley Naidoo Piet Grobler

HONOR BOOKS

Young Children		Older Readers
Nigeria	Ghana	South Africa
by Atinuke Lauren Tobias	by Kathy Knowles Edmund Opare	by Connie Manse Ngcaba

NOTABLES

Young Children
Ghana	The Gambia
by Laurie Ann Thompson Sean Qualls	by Miranda Paul Elizabeth Zunon

BEST BOOKS FOR YOUNG CHILDREN

Chicken in the Kitchen. Nnedi Okorafor and Mehrdokht Amini (illus.)  London: Lantana Publishing, 2015

When Anyaugo follows a giant chicken into her kitchen one warm night in Nigeria, she embarks on a hilarious adventure where nothing is quite as it seems.

Wangari Maathai : The Woman Who Planted Millions of Trees. Franck Prévot and Aurélia Fronty, (illus.) Watertown MA: Charlesbridge, 2015

Prévot provides a solid snapshot of Wangari’s early life, her lush village home, her education despite prevailing norms that kept girls at home, her study abroad, her transformation from conservationist to community organizer, and her transition from activist to Nobel Peace Prize Winner.

BEST BOOKS FOR OLDER READERS

Black Dove, White Raven. Elizabeth Wein, Los Angeles: Disney-Hyperion, 2015

Moving to Ethiopia to avoid the prejudices of 1930s America, a white teenage girl, her black adoptive brother and their stunt pilot mother must then contend with the threat of war with Italy.

Who is King? Ten Magical Stories from Africa. Beverely Naidoo and Piet Grobler (illus.) London: Frances Lincoln, 2015. 

Find out what happens to Lion when he challenges Elephant and discovers who is the real king of the savannah; laugh along with Tortoise as he bewitches the animals in Tiger’s work-party with his irresistible music; find out why Hippo has no hair, how Elephant got his trunk, and why Cockerel crows. Then read about the woman who had a mouse-child! The stories are drawn from the rich folklore of Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania, Malawi, Lesotho, Zimbabwe and South Africa.

HONOR BOOKS FOR YOUNG CHILDREN

Double Trouble for Anna Hibiscus. Atinuke and Lauren Tobias (illus.) London: Walker Books / Kane Miller, 2015.

Everything is changing for Anna Hibiscus, she’s a sister! But – oh dear – everyone is now so busy! Uncle Bizi-Sunday is shopping for the babies, Aunty Joli and Aunty Grace are rocking the babies and Mama and Grandma are fast asleep …but just who has time for Anna Hibiscus? I hate Double Trouble! shouts Anna. But Anna Hibiscus is amazing so it won’t be long before everyone finds time for her again!” 

Nana and Me. Kathy Knowles and Edmund Opare (illus.) Winnipeg: Osu Children’s Library Fund, 2015

One hundred children from three libraries sponsored by the Osu Children’s Library Fund in Ghana, West Africa, wrote about their grandmothers, Kathy Knowles created Nana and Me from their words.  Edmund Opare’s water color illustrations show the close relationship between the grandmother and child.

HONOR BOOK FOR OLDER READERS

May I Have This Dance. Connie Manse Ngcaba, Muizenberg, Cape Town: Cover2Cover Books, 2015. (Older Readers)

Connie Manse Ngcaba tells her story of growing up in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, where she became a nurse, community figurehead and a leading voice of dissent against the apartheid regime, culminating in her being detained for a year without trial at the age of 57.

NOTABLE BOOKS

 Emmanuel’s Dream : The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah . Laurie Ann Thompson and Sean Qualls, (illus.) New York, NY: Random House / Schwartz & Wade , 2015. (Young Children)

This picture book tells the true story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah, a young man born with a deformed leg in rural Ghana who would later bicycle across his country, raising awareness for disabled people throughout Africa and around the world. (Young Children)

One Plastic Bag : Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of The Gambia . Miranda Paul and Elizabeth Zunon (illus.) Minneapolis, MN: Millbrook Press, 2015. (Young Children)

In Njau, Gambia, discarded plastic bags littered the roads. Water pooled in them, bringing mosquitoes and disease. But Isatou Ceesay found a way to recycle the bags and transform her community. 

 

AWARD SPONSORS

The Children’s Africana Book Awards (CABA) are presented annually to the authors and illustrators of the best children’s and young adult books on Africa published or republished in the U.S. The awards were created by Africa Access and the Outreach Council of the African Studies Association (ASA) to encourage the publication and use of accurate, balanced children’s materials about Africa. The awards are presented in two categories:Young Children and Older Readers.

Africa Access
Boston University. African Studies Center
Harvard University. Committee on African Studies
Howard University. Center for African Studies
Michigan State University.African Studies Center
University of Florida. Center for African Studies
University of Illinois, Champaign. Center for African Studies
University of Minnesota. African American and African Studies
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. African Studies
Center University of Wisconsin-Madison. African Studies Program
Yale University. Council on African Studies

Award Supporters

Community Audiology Services
Harriet McGuire
Lange Schermerhorm
Jo Sullivan