Our edit of kids’ fiction books set in Africa

 

One of the things we love most about books is the fact that they are a great way of exploring the world. For most of our children, the world is still a very small place. Fiction is an enormously powerful tool that can help gently to introduce them to the wider world, allowing them to witness and experience what it is like to live in a different country or culture.

This month we sent our Cockatoo subscribers a very exciting book in which a London schoolboy heads to Kenya to meet his Maasai family and learn all about life in the African savannah - Warrior Boy by Virginia Clay. If you’re inspired to explore Africa, here’s a list of middle grade fiction titles that we think make an excellent introduction to this amazing continent:

Early chapter books set in Africa for kids aged 5+

Anna Hibiscus by Atinuke

A collection of four linked stories of family life set in modern west Africa. Anna Hibiscus lives in amazing Africa with her mother, her father, her baby twin brothers, and lots and lots of her family. Join her as she splashes in the sea, prepares for a party, sells oranges, and hopes to see sweet, sweet snow!

Too Small Tola Makes it Count by Atinuke

This collection of three fun and inclusive stories is perfect for readers aged 5 and up. Lockdown is over and Too Small Tola has returned to the crowded family flat in Lagos, Nigeria. Even though she is back home and safe, there are still plenty of problems for Tola to solve - including her own. She may be small, but she is also thoughtful and kind and clever – and there really is no problem too big for Too Small Tola.

Wild Magic: Legend of the Black Lion by Abiola Bela

The first in this exciting illustrated series for early readers transports us to Ethiopia on a thrilling and magical journey. The story stars two hugely relatable young adventurers, plus some brilliant animal characters, and has an important eco message at its heart. 

The Butterfly Lion by Michael Morpurgo

This is the lyrical and moving tale of a young boy growing up in Africa, and his lifelong friendship with a white lion. Bertie rescues an orphaned white lion cub from the African veld. They are inseparable until Bertie is sent to boarding school far away in England and the lion is sold to a circus. Bertie swears that one day they will see one another again, but it is the butterfly lion which ensures that their friendship will never be forgotten.

The Akimbo Adventures by Alexander McCall Smith

Imagine living in the heart of Africa. Imagine living in a place where the sun rises every morning over blue mountains. In this classic adventure series by the author of The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, Akimbo and his parents live on the edge of an African game reserve. It's his father's task to protect the thousands of amazing animals who make it their home, and wildlife-loving Akimbo dreams of helping him.

Fiction set in Africa for kids aged 8+

Transcendent by Patrick Gallagher

Jacob and Kira live in the heart of Mbale, Uganda with their conservationist mother and navigate life as unsuspecting geniuses; Kira with hopes to explore outside the hot terrains of Uganda, and conspiracy theorist Jacob, whose fear often holds him back from the answers he so desperately wants to uncover. But when they discover that someone has been watching their every move in the hopes to enlist them in a top-secret agency called Transcendent, their lives are turned upside down.

Aliya to the Infinite City by Laila Rifaat

We sent this wildly imaginative fantasy adventure, steeped in Egyptian history, to our Cockatoo subscribers in March 2024. The series continues with Aliya Aboard the Time Train and Aliya and the Shop of Second Chances.

At home in Cairo, an unexpected gift arrives for Aliya, promising to grant her greatest wish – to know more about her lost parents. To her surprise, she’s whisked off by flying carpet to a parallel Egypt, where she’s enrolled at an academy for . . . time-travellers!

 One Chance Dance by Efua Traore

Jomi’s mum left when he was little to make a new life for them in Lagos, the city of dreams. When Jomi doesn’t hear from her, he decides to follow. His only starting place is a TV dance competition that his mum used to love.

Things go badly for the boy and his pet bushbaby, until he meets a crew of street kids. Together, they come up with a one-chance idea to find Jomi’s mother – and make their own dreams come true.

 

A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park

This gripping tale of conflict and survival is based on a true story. Eleven-year-old Salva is forced to flee on foot when his village comes under attack. Braving every imaginable hardship – including killer lions and hungry crocodiles – he is one of the 'lost boys' travelling the African continent on foot in search of his family and a safe place to stay. Nya goes to the pond two times a day to fetch water. It takes her eight hours. But there is unexpected hope, as these two stories set in Sudan – one unfolding in 2008 and one in 1985 – go on to intersect with Nya’s in an astonishing and moving way.

The Fastest Boy in the World by Elizabeth Laird

Eleven-year-old Solomon loves to run! The great athletes of the Ethiopian national team are his heroes and he dreams that one day he will be a gold-medal-winning athlete like them, in spite of his ragged shorts and bare feet. When his grandfather announces that he's going to take Solomon to Addis Ababa, Solomon cannot believe his ears. A trip to the capital? It's unfathomable. Solomon's joy is increased when he realizes that the Ethiopian running team will be doing a victory parade through the city that day. Maybe he'll get a glimpse of Haile Gebrselassie or Derartu Tulu?!

The White Giraffe by Lauren St John

When she is eleven years old, Martine is orphaned and sent to live with her grandmother on a game reserve in South Africa. Her grandmother seems strangely unwelcoming and Martine has a difficult time settling in at her new school, where she is conspicuously an outsider. But she has an ally in Tendai - one of the keepers on the reserve, from whom she learns the lore and survival techniques of the bush, and in Grace - who instantly senses there is something special about Martine. One night, Martine, lonely and feeling slightly rebellious too, looks out of her window and sees a young albino giraffe – what follows is a heart-warming story, the first in a series, full of charm and atmosphere, and Martine's sheer delight in her giraffe friend and the fantastic landscape which is theirs to explore.

The Lion Who Stole My Arm by Nicola Davies

This volume appears in an fantastic series of short books exploring issues around conservation. On his way home from a fishing trip Pedru is attacked by a lion who takes his arm. As Pedru gradually adapts to his altered circumstances, at home and at school, he vows to get his revenge. So when his father, the finest hunter in the village, agrees to hunt the lion with him, Pedru is thrilled. But father and son track and kill the wrong lion – and find it's wearing a collar. Pedru's feelings change when he returns the collar to the Madune Carnivore Research Unit and the scientists there help him see his lion in a different light. With this new understanding he devotes himself to the study of lion behaviour, inspired by the animals' resilience and the possibilities their careful management opens up for his country's future in the form of tourism.

Novels set in Africa for tweens and early teens

 

All That It Ever Meant by Blessing Musariri

We set this gripping family drama, set between London and Zimbabwe, to our Macaw subscribers in July 2024.

When Mati and her two siblings travel from London to Zimbabwe with their father, they are forced to confront the knotty family dynamics caused by the loss of their mother. Along for the trip is Meticais, a fabulously attired gender-neutral spirit-or ghost? or imaginary friend?-who only Mati can see and talk to. Guided by Meticais's enigmatic advice and wisdom, Mati must come to terms with her grief and with the difficulty of a life lived between two cultures, while her family learn to forge their way in a world without their monumental mother. 

Girl. Boy. Sea by Chris Vick

This lyrical tale of survival at sea was the first book we ever chose for our Macaw subscribers, back in December 2022.

A British boy narrowly survives the sinking of his yacht in a huge storm off the coast of Morocco. After days alone at sea in a tiny rowing boat Bill rescues a girl clinging for her life to a barrel. Aya was escaping to Europe when her migrant ship was destroyed in the same storm. Aya tells Bill about The Arabian Nights, and Shahrazad, who told 1001 stories to save her life. As hope of rescue begins to fade, they find strength in the magic of storytelling, while in the dark deep, a shadow follows...

 

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