24th Annual
Children’s Africana Book Awards
Saturday October 8, 2016
11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Author Talks, Art Activities, Storytelling, Face Painting
Smithsonian National Museum of African Art
950 Independence Avenue Southwest, Washington, DC 20560
Washington, DC
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 |
 byLaurie Ann Thompson Sean Qualls |
 byMiranda 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 AND PARTNERS
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