Africa Access Reviews

Adeyemi’s ashe or power as a writer is expressed in the success of her debut novel Children of Blood and Bone. She was awarded a groundbreaking seven figure YA book contract and a movie deal, at 23 years old.  The book has been well received, note the numerous reviews and the NY Times Best Sellers listing for over 34 weeks ...
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This book is a collaboration among several scholars and practitioners in promoting food systems through womens rights as experienced by a young girl. Stevenson seeks to emphasis the UN Sustainable Development Goals: zero hunger, good health, quality education, and gender equity. Wanda is presently living in the United States; however, with her magic apron, she returns to Abuja and Kano ...
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This book creatively articulates Miriam Makeba’s biography as a political activist through her voice as a musician. The author illustrates that Miriam expressed herself through her songs. She sang in church, and sang not only to entertain but also to expose injustices of apartheid South Africa to her fellow countrymen and the whole world. The book illustrations are ingenious and ...
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Grandma’s List is a colorful picture book about an 8 year old girl, Fatima, who wants to save the day by helping her Grandma complete her chore list. After convincing her Grandma that she is old enough to help, she dashes off proudly to start tackling the list by running errands around her neighborhood. The problem is, Fatima loses the ...
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  The City of Saints and Thieves by Natalie C. Anderson is a lively tale of a spunky girl who trains as a master thief and creates a set of rules to survive as an orphaned refugee after her mother is killed. As a thief in the Goodnas gang, Christina aka Tiny has an opportunity to search the house where she ...
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Set against the background of the 1976 Soweto student march against the Bantu Education Act, When Morning Comes is a multi-faceted novel that covers many important themes: the segregation of Black, White, and Indian racial groups in apartheid South Africa; the intelligence and determination of Black youth to plan and execute a political movement; adolescent idealism to give up all ...
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Atinuke is the author of many picture books that include her popular Anna Hibiscus series. Baby Goes to Market is a delightful read-aloud story by this award winning author. Along with the enchanting illustrations by Angela Brooksbank, this charming counting book is grounded in an authentic setting of a bustling west African market. Atinuke’s roots among the Yoruba of southwest ...
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Kaleidoscope Song by Fox Benwell is a thought-provoking and enjoyable young adult novel about love, acceptance and heartbreak. Neo, the main character, is a young woman from Khayelitsha, South Africa who is discovering her sexuality. She comes from a protective and hardworking family that instills traditional values of what it means to be a young woman in post-apartheid South Africa ...
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Told in prose and song, Solo is a young adult novel about a gifted high school musician who experiences heartbreak, public humiliation and an identity crisis on the eve of his high school graduation. Part one of the novel takes place in Hollywood, part two in rural Ghana. Blade Morrison, a budding musician, detests Rutherford, his rock-star father and the ...
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Akosua and Osman is the story of two young adults navigating social, academic and family life in high school in Ghana. The story is told through Akosua in every other chapter and Osman through the alternating chapters. Akosua begins and ends the book, which is key because strong female voices are central to the stories of both Osman and Akosua ...
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