Africa

=Africa=

**__Nonfiction __** Reef, Catherine. **//This Our Dark Country : the American Settlers of Liberia. //**  **Clarion Books, c2002. **  **In 1822 free African Americans founded a colony in west Africa which became the country of Liberia. Reef incorporates primary materials and visuals to describe the history of Liberia with all of its successes and problems. ** Recommended by Mary Ann

**__Fiction __** Courtenay, Bruce. **//The Power of One. //**** Delecorte Press, c2005. ** This is the YA version of Courtenay’s adult novel set in South Africa during WWII. It tells the story of a young white British boy, Peekay who is sent to an abusive boarding school. Peekay, a talented boxer, finds mentors from the different races in South African society and sees the cruel effects of the virulent racism of the time period. 940L R ecommended by Mary Ann

Paton, Alan. **//Cry, the Beloved Country//**. Scribner Paperback Fiction, c1995 Scribner’s and Sons, c1948. Paton’s novel is set in South Africa in the 1940’s. This classic tells the story of a young Zulu, Absalom, who is accused of murdering a white man. Although Absalom is helped by his father, a pastor, and a white attorney, the racial attitudes and practices of the country prevent justice being done. 860L R ecommended by Mary Ann

**__<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Fiction __** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Stratton, Allan. **//Chanda's Secrets.//** Annick Press, c2004. This book, set in sub-Saharan Africa in the 1990’s, follows the life of sixteen year old Chanda as she faces the horrible issues of HIV/AIDS in Africa. Society demands that a family member having or dying from AIDS must be kept secret; ignorance of the disease and superstition abounds. As her mother sickens, Chanda must become the family’s means of support. Based on extensive research in Africa by the author. 590L Recommended by Mary Ann

Allan, Stratton. //**<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Chanda's Wars **//. HarperTeen, 2008. Chanda has reached some level of stability in her life since readers first met her in Chanda's Secrets (Annick, 2004). She takes care of her younger brother and sister and works as a teaching assistant to support her family. However, Chanda is pursued by nightmares. Friends and neighbors soon persuade her to take her siblings to the countryside to end the feud with their mother's family. The ravages of AIDS and poverty on a fictional <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">, <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">but realistic sub-Saharan African country are once again depicted with unflinching honesty, but it is the issue of child soldiers, a tragedy that affects more than 300,000 children around the world, that takes center stage. Stratton deftly handles the devastating effects war can have on young people. Horrific things happen to the characters, though Chanda's first-person narrative never gets unnecessarily graphic in the detail. 530L Recommeded by Morgan

Coman, Carolyn//. **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Many Stones **//**<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">. ****<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-weight: normal;"> Front Streer, c2000 ** This novel tells the story of Laura, an American teen traveling to South Africa on a ten day tourist trip. However, the main reason for the trip is to participate in a dedication of a memorial for her older sister. Her sister had volunteered in South Africa during the mid 1990’s when the South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission was starting to try to reconcile their black and white population. 830L Recommended by Mary Ann

Jansen, Hanna (translated by Elizabeth D. Crawford). **//<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Over a Thousand Hills I Walk with You. //****<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-weight: normal;"> Carolrhoda Books, c2006. ** This novel is a fictionalized account of the author’s adopted daughter’s experiences during the Rwandan genocide that occurred from April 6th to July of 1994. Jeanne was only eight, living a good life when the massacres began. Fleeing the bloodshed, Jeanne moved from place to place seeking safety. She is the only one of her family to survive. 790L Recommended by Mary Ann

Naidoo, Beverley.//**<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Out of Bounds : Seven Stories of Conflict and Hope. **// HarperCollins, 2001. This powerful collection takes readers on a sometimes harrowing journey through the nightmare that was apartheid South Africa. The stories take place at various times between 1948, the year that marks the beginning of apartheid, through 2000. The main characters, who come from different ethnic and economic groups, are all children, and Naidoo's reliance on a child's perspective ensures that the material remains emotionally manageable. 750L Recommended by Jan

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Nanji, Shenaaz. **//Child of Dandelions//**. Front Street, c2008. In Unganda in 1972, fifteen-year-old Sabine and her family, wealthy citizens of Indian descent, try to preserve their normal life during the ninety days allowed by President Idi Amin for all foreign Indians to leave the country, while soldiers and others terrorize them and people disappear. (Follett Titlewave) Good reviews. 720L Recommended by Denette

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">McKee, Tim and Blackshaw, Anne. **//<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">No More Strangers Now: Young Voices From a New South Africa. //****<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-weight: normal;"> DK Publishing, c1998 ** This book is a photo-essay based on interviews of twelve South African teens. The teens come from many different backgrounds and speak openly and honestly about their lives in a society practicing apartheid. The interviews were conducted in 1996 and 1997. 1110L Recommended by Mary Ann
 * __<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Nonfiction __**

Beah, Ishmael. **//<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">A Long Way Gone : Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. //** Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007. At age twelve, Beah, his brother, and some friends left their village to attend a talent show; the walked into the 1993 civil war in Sierra Leone. The boys wandered, witnessing atrocities and seeking food and shelter. A few months later they were recruited into the government militia. Given guns and drugs, the boys became ruthless killers. The book does not shy away from the graphic violence committed by both sides. Luckily, Beah was rescued by a UNICEF team and a rehabilitation home for young soldiers. 920L Recommended by Mary Ann

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Allan, Stratton. **//Chanda's Wars//**. HarperTeen, 2008. Chanda has reached some level of stability in her life since readers first met her in Chanda's Secrets (Annick, 2004). She takes care of her younger brother and sister and works as a teaching assistant to support her family. However, Chanda is pursued by nightmares. Friends and neighbors soon persuade her to take her siblings to the countryside to end the feud with their mother's family. The ravages of AIDS and poverty on a fictional, but realistic sub-Saharan African country are once again depicted with unflinching honesty, but it is the issue of child soldiers, a tragedy that affects more than 300,000 children around the world, that takes center stage. Stratton deftly handles the devastating effects war can have on young people. Horrific things happen to the characters, though Chanda's first-person narrative never gets unnecessarily graphic in the detail. Reading level 3.5. Interest level is for young adults. (Morgan)

Draper, Sharon. **//Copper Sun//**. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2006. Amari, a fifteen-year-old African girl, survives the burning and looting of her village and the brutal murder of her family only to be dragged aboard a slave ship where miserable, unsanitary conditions and cruel treatment threaten her already fragile physical and emotional constitution. Arriving in America, she is auctioned off. Amari and an indentured white girl, Polly, find themselves unlikely friends when they are forced to live together in the slave quarters. Purchased as a birthday gift for the master's sixteen-year-old son, Amari's only hope is escape. Grades 8 and up. (Morgan)

Naidoo, Beverley.**//Out of Bounds : Seven Stories of Conflict and Hope.//** HarperCollins, 2001. This powerful collection takes readers on a sometimes harrowing journey through the nightmare that was apartheid South Africa. The stories take place at various times between 1948, the year that marks the beginning of apartheid, through 2000. The main characters, who come from different ethnic and economic groups, are all children, and Naidoo's reliance on a child's perspective ensures that the material remains emotionally manageable. Reading level 5.4. Grades 6-10. (Jan)