Children’s Africana Book Awards

Dreams are todays answers for tomorrows questions.

11-year-old Kofi Offin dreams of water. Its mysterious, immersive quality. The rich, earthy scent of the current. The clearness, its urgent whisper that beckons with promises and secrets…

Kofi has heard the call on the banks of Upper Kwanta, in the village where he lives. He loves these things above all else: his family, the fireside tales of his fathers father, a girl named Ama, and, of course, swimming. Some say he moves like a minnow, not just an ordinary boy so hes hoping to finally prove himself in front of Ama and his friends in a swimming contest against his older, stronger cousin.

But before this can take place, a festival comes to the villages of Upper and Lower Kwanta and Kofis brother is chosen to represent Upper Kwanta in the wrestling contest. Encircled by cheering spectators and sounding drums, the two wrestlers from different villages kneel, ready to fight.

You are only fine, until you are not.

The match is over before it has barely begun, when the unthinkablea sudden deathoccurs…

The river does not care how grown you are.

As his world turns upside down, Kofi soon ends up in a fight for his life. What happens next will send him on a harrowing journey across land and sea, and away from everything he loves.

Winner of the 2023 Childrens Africana Book Award (CABA), which is awarded by The Center for African Studies at Howard University.

Outstanding Science Trade Book for 2022 by the National Science Teaching Association and the Childrens Book Council.

California Eureka Silver Honoree 2022

A story of ingenuity and perseverance.

Richard Tureres own story: Richard grew up in Kenya as a Maasai boy, herding his familys cattle, which represented their wealth and livelihood. Richards challenge was to protect their cattle from the lions who prowled the night just outside the barrier of acacia branches that surrounded the farms boma, or stockade. Though not well-educated, 12-year-old Richard loved tinkering with electronics. Using salvaged components, spending $10, he surrounded the boma with blinking lights, and the system works; it keeps lions away. His invention, Lion Lights, is now used in Africa, Asia, and South America to protect farm animals from predators.

Editors Choice Books for Youth, Booklist
Childrens Africana Book Awards, Howard University Center for African Studies winner

The inspiring biography of Ghanaian artist El Anatsui whose handmade sculptures, created from discarded bottle tops, have received international acclaim and been showcased around the world.

"If you touch something, you leave a charge on it and anybody else touching it connects with you, in a way." El Anatsui

El Anatsui has always written his own story. As an art student at the University of Ghana, El noticed that the artists and styles he was studying were grounded in European traditions. Curious about his own cultures art history, El observed his people and found stories in the fabrics they wore and the way they used recycled goods. He decided to tell these stories through his artwork.

El experimented with different mediumsfiring broken clay into new pots and cutting wood into sculptures using a chainsaw. Each time El tried something new, he brought with him the experience of all the experiments he did before. After coming across a discarded bag of shimmering bottle tops, El wondered What was their story? He experimented with the new materialdisassembling, flattening, and reshapingthen stitched the tops together with wire. The result were large, flowing tapestries that tell stories about history, culture, and link people together. Today, Els bottle top sculptures are showcased all over the world inspiring audiences everywhere.

Here is the captivating story of a Ghanaian sculptor whose passion, creativity, and awe-inspiring artwork reminds us that creating powerful art is about being true to yourself.

Black Panther meets X-Men in this "fast-paced, action-packed, and empowering" (A. F. Steadman, New York Times bestselling author of Skandar and the Unicorn Thief) middle grade adventure about a British Nigerian girl who learns that her Afro hair has psychokinetic powersperfect for fans of Amari and the Night Brothers, The Marvellers, and Rick Riordan!

Onyeka has a lot of hairthe kind that makes strangers stop in the street and her peers whisper behind her back. At least she has Cheyenne, her best friend, who couldnt care less what other people think. Still, Onyeka has always felt insecure about her vibrant curlsuntil the day Cheyenne almost drowns and Onyekas hair takes on a life of its own, inexplicably pulling Cheyenne from the water.

At home, Onyekas mother tells her the shocking truth: Onyekas psychokinetic powers make her a Solari, one of a secret group of people with superpowers unique to Nigeria. Her mother quickly whisks her off to the Academy of the Sun, a school in Nigeria where Solari are trained. But Onyeka and her new friends at the academy soon have to put their powers to the test as they find themselves embroiled in a momentous battle between truth and lies

This rags-to-riches story by an award-winning Ghanaian author has page-turning appeal with luminous literary resonance.
Writing with effortlessly engaging prose, Wolo showcases the interweaving layers of Ghanaian culture to create a prismatic, multifaceted world in which two young girls, against all odds, are able to find each other.

When Faiza, a Muslim migrant girl from northern Ghana, and Abena, a wealthy doctors daughter from the south, meet by chance in Accras largest market, where Faiza works as a porter or kaya girl, they strike up an unlikely and powerful friendship that transcends their social inequities and opens up new worlds to them both.

Set against a backdrop of class disparity in Ghana, The Kaya Girl has shades of The Kite Runner in its unlikely friendship, and of Slumdog Millionaire as Faizas life takes unlikely turns that propel her thrillingly forward.

As, over the course of the novel, Abena awakens to the world outside her sheltered, privileged life, the novel explores a multitude of awakenings and the opportunities that lie beyond the breaking down of barriers. This is a gorgeously transporting work, offering vivid insight into two strikingly diverse young lives in Ghana.

A richly imagined magical adventure set in West Africa by a prize-winning new voice in childrens writing, Children of the Quicksands introduces readers to Yoruba myths and legends while showcasing the wealth of culture, traditions, adventure, joy, pride, and love found in Nigeria.

In a remote Nigerian village, thirteen-year-old Simi is desperate to uncover a family secret. Ajao is nothing like Lagos no cells phones, no running water or electricity. Not a single human-made sound can be heard at night, just the noise of birds and animals rustling in the dark forest outside. Her witchlike grandmother dispenses advice and herbal medicine to the village, but shes tight lipped about their family history. Something must have happened, but what?

Determined to find out, Simi disobeys her grandmother and goes exploring only to find herself sinking in the red quicksand of a forbidden lake and into the strange parallel world that lies beneath. It must have been a dream right?

Wrong. Something isnt right. Children are disappearing and its up to Simi to discover the truth.

A Kirkus Prize Finalist
A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the year
A SLJ Best Book of the year
A Rise: A Feminist Book Project honoree
A Chicago Public Library Best Book of the year
Amazon August Editors pick for Best Young Adult

An emotionally riveting novel for fans of Ibi Zoboi and Erika L. Sánchez about two sisters in Nigeria on their journey to break free of an oppressive home.

Sisters Cheta and Zam couldnt be more different. Cheta, sharp-tongued and stubborn, never shies away from conflicteither at school or at home, where her mother fires abuse at her. Timid Zam escapes most of her mothers anger, skating under the radar and avoiding her sister whenever possible. In a turn of good fortune, Zam is invited to live with her aunts family in the lap of luxury. Jealous, Cheta also leaves home, but to a harder existence that will drive her to terrible decisions. When the sisters are reunited, Zam alone will recognize just how far Cheta has fallenand Chetas fate will rest in Zams hands.

Debut author Rimma Onoseta deftly explores classism, colorism, cycles of abuse, how loyalty doesnt always come attached to love, and the messy truths that sometimes, family is not a source of comfort, and that morality is all shades of grey.

* A Kirkus Reviews Best YA Book of 2022
* A USBBY 2023 Outstanding International Book
* A 2022 Foreword INDIES Finalist
* Honorable mention, 2023 Childrens Africana Book Awards

All Rise: Resistance and Rebellion in South Africa revives six true stories of resistance by marginalized South Africans against the countrys colonial government in the years leading up to Apartheid. In six parts―each of which is illustrated by a different South African artist―All Rise shares the long-forgotten struggles of ordinary, working-class women and men who defended the disempowered during a tumultuous period in South African history. From immigrants and miners to tram workers and washerwomen, the everyday people in these stories bore the brunt of oppression and in some cases risked their lives to bring about positive change for future generations.

This graphic anthology breathes new life into a history dominated by icons, and promises to inspire all readers to become everyday activists and allies. The diverse creative team behind All Rise, from an array of races, genders, and backgrounds, is a testament to the multicultural South Africa dreamed of by the heroes in these stories―true stories of grit, compassion, and hope, now being told for the first time in print.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
A 2023 Charlotte Zolotow Award Honor Book
Winner of the 2022 South African Literary Awards Childrens Literature Award
Honorable mention, 2023 Childrens Africana Book AwardsA Cooperative Childrens Book Center 2023 Choices Pick From award winning childrens writer Niki Daly, author and illustrator of the Lolo early reader series

Whether its jumping in puddles with Tata in the rain, greeting the neighborhood cat on the quiet back streets with Gogo, or holding hands with Mama while rushing to make the bell, walking to school with family is the best. But nothing is better than walking to school with Papa. From high above, resting on Papas shoulders, all of the town is in perfect view, and Papa always says "I love you" when he says goodbye.

A sweet ode to fatherhood and the special relationships children share with each member of their family, On My Papas Shoulders reminds us that its not about where were going, but rather the people who walk with us along the way.

While most siblings are rivals, Akie and his little brother are the best of friends. They love singing while flying kites, one big kite for Akie, and one small kite for Ebuka. Akie and Ebuka dont intend to disobey their parents, but as they follow the trails of an airplane flying low over their house, they do the unthinkable. Ebuka employs lies and tricks to keep their mother in the dark, to buy time, and to help his brother. Will their parents forgive them?

If youve never lied, or made mistakes, deliver the first punch!