Read Around the Continents Booklist: Africa

Read Around The Continents

We are a family of happy travelers, in fact we call ourselves “The Traveling Tribe.” It should be the name of our family memoir.

When we aren’t traveling physically, we are “armchair traveling.” It’s educational, fun, and a great way to learn new things about our world as a family. One way I’ve taught my children about the 7 continents is to use books from a specific continent and incorporate that into story time or family reading time. Folktales are especially good for this project.

This week our armchair traveling takes us to the continent of Africa.

Did you know that:

Africa is the second largest continent in the world ?

Africa is also called the Dark Continent because for a very long time not much was known about it. Africa’s terrain was very difficult to navigate and discover.
Africa is the home of the Nile ,the longest river in the world.

It is also the home of the Sahara, the largest desert in the world.

The equator passes through the middle of the African continent , this means it receives direct sunlight all year round. Africa’s hottest country, literally is Ethiopia.
Africa is very rich in minerals.Ninety five percent of the worlds’s diamonds and more than 50% of the world’s gold comes from Africa.

66% of the world’s chocolate comes from Africa.

Africa is considered to be the place where the first humans lived and learned to use tools.

There are some very masterful storytellers about Africa. Did you know that Africa is also known as the storytelling continent ? Where possible I’ve organized this list by some great authors and storytellers.

Verna Aardema: Verna Norberg Aardema Vugteveen, best known by the name Verna Aardema, was an American author of children’s books. Born Verna Norberg in New Era, Michigan she graduated from Michigan State University with a B.A. of Journalism in 1934. She worked as a grade school teacher from 1934 to 1973 and became a correspondent for the Muskegon Chronicle in 1951, which lasted until 1972, the year before she retired from teaching elementary school:

Bimwili and the Zimwi:This story from Zanzibar explains what happens when Bimwili returns to the seashore to find a shell that she has left there. She is captured by an evil Zimwi who imprisons her in his drum. Purpose of this tale is to warn children about the dangers of straying alone from the village.

Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain: This Nandi story uses rhyme and repetition in a cumulative pattern to teach about life and animals on the savannah. When the rains are late, Ki-pat uses an eagle feather to end the drought on the plain.

Misoso: Once Upon a Time Tales from Africa: From Angola to Zanzibar, this treasury is as varied and bountiful as Africa itself! Master storyteller Verna Aardema retells 12 tales of justice and revenge, greed and generosity, sly trickery, and off-the-wall silliness with her trademark humor and flair.

Why Mosquitos Buzz in People’s Ears: This West African cumulative tale begins when Mosquito tells Iguana a tall tale. Iguana, rather than listen to Mosquito, puts sticks in his ears and that is when the problem begins