Representing Africa in Children's Literature

Representing Africa in Children's Literature
Author: Vivian Yenika-Agbaw
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 168
Release: 2007-12-13
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1135923671

Representing Africa in Children’s Literature explores how African and Western authors portray youth in contemporary African societies, critically examining the dominant images of Africa and Africans in books published between 1960 and 2005. The book focuses on contemporary children’s and young adult literature set in Africa, examining issues regarding colonialism, the politics of representation, and the challenges posed to both "insiders" and "outsiders" writing about Africa for children.

Representing Africa in Children's Literature

Representing Africa in Children's Literature
Author: Vivian Yenika-Agbaw
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 170
Release: 2007-12-13
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1135923663

Representing Africa in Children’s Literature explores how African and Western authors portray youth in contemporary African societies, critically examining the dominant images of Africa and Africans in books published between 1960 and 2005. The book focuses on contemporary children’s and young adult literature set in Africa, examining issues regarding colonialism, the politics of representation, and the challenges posed to both "insiders" and "outsiders" writing about Africa for children.

Neo-Imperialism in Children's Literature About Africa

Neo-Imperialism in Children's Literature About Africa
Author: Yulisa Amadu Maddy
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 314
Release: 2008-12-28
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1135848696

In the spirit of their last collaboration, Apartheid and Racism in South African Children's Literature, 1985-1995, Yulisa Amadu Maddy and Donnarae MacCann once again come together to expose the neo-imperialist overtones of contemporary children's fiction about Africa. Examining the portrayal of African social customs, religious philosophies, and political structures in fiction for young people, Maddy and MacCann reveal the Western biases that often infuse stories by well-known Western authors. In the book's introductory section, Maddy and MacCann offer historical information concerning Western notions of Africa as "primitive," and then present background information about the complexity of feminism in Africa and about the ongoing institutionalization of racism. The main body of the study contains critiques of the novels or short stories of eleven well-known writers, including Isabel Allende and Nancy Farmer--all demonstrating that children's literature continues to mis-represent conditions and social relations in Africa. The study concludes with a look at those short stories of Beverley Naidoo which bring insight and historical accuracy to South African conflicts and emerging solutions. Educators, literature professors, publishers, professors of Diaspora and African studies, and students of the mass media will find Maddy and MacCann’s critique of racism in the representation of Africa to be indispensible to students of multicultural literature.

If I Ran the Zoo

If I Ran the Zoo
Author: Dr. Seuss
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Total Pages: 63
Release: 1950
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 0394800818

Gerald tells of the very unusual animals he would add to the zoo, if he were in charge.

The Nation in Children's Literature

The Nation in Children's Literature
Author: Kit Kelen
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 298
Release: 2013-02-11
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1136248943

This book explores the meaning of nation or nationalism in children’s literature and how it constructs and represents different national experiences. The contributors discuss diverse aspects of children’s literature and film from interdisciplinary and multicultural approaches, ranging from the short story and novel to science fiction and fantasy from a range of locations including Canada, Australia, Taiwan, Norway, America, Italy, Great Britain, Iceland, Africa, Japan, South Korea, India, Sweden and Greece. The emergence of modern nation-states can be seen as coinciding with the historical rise of children’s literature, while stateless or diasporic nations have frequently formulated their national consciousness and experience through children’s literature, both instructing children as future citizens and highlighting how ideas of childhood inform the discourses of nation and citizenship. Because nation and childhood are so intimately connected, it is crucial for critics and scholars to shed light on how children’s literatures have constructed and represented historically different national experiences. At the same time, given the massive political and demographic changes in the world since the nineteenth century and the formation of nation states, it is also crucial to evaluate how the national has been challenged by changing national languages through globalization, international commerce, and the rise of English. This book discusses how the idea of childhood pervades the rhetoric of nation and citizenship, and how children and childhood are represented across the globe through literature and film.

Fly

Fly
Author: Brittany J. Thurman
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 38
Release: 2022-01-11
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1534454888

Pure joy and the power of community radiate from this sweet picture book about a young Black girl’s perseverance and confidence in following her double Dutch dreams. Africa’s grandmother was a double Dutch legend, and Africa knows she can become the same. Her brother scoffs when she signs up for a double Dutch competition, though—how can she hope to compete when she’s never done it before? But Africa has all the tools she needs: memories of her grandmother, her bestie Bianca’s dance moves, her friend Omar’s rhythm, and her classmates’ Mary Mack timing and cartwheels. If Africa can pull everything together to jump some winning moves, she might just fly, but it’s the birthmark in the shape of her name that tells her she’s always been a winner.

Children's Literature & Story-telling

Children's Literature & Story-telling
Author: Ernest Emenyo̲nu
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer
Total Pages: 225
Release: 2015
Genre: Authors, African
ISBN: 1847011322

Contributors analyse the theories behind children's literature, its functions and cultural significance, and suggest the new directions this literature is taking in terms of its craft, themes and intentions.

Shine

Shine
Author: Sarah Asuquo
Publisher: Troubador Publishing Ltd
Total Pages: 32
Release: 2019-01-18
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1789017157

Kai is excited to go back to school after the summer holiday, but soon finds himself being mocked by his peers for being different. Kai’s confidence is lowered and he begins to wish that he is ‘normal’ like everyone else. With the help of his parents, Kai learns to be proud of himself and his unique qualities and values. Kai’s mother explains how although the moon and stars are different they both shine beautifully in the sky. He learns an important lesson: that everyone is special and valuable in their own way. He realises that the things that make him different are the things that make him special. He makes a decision to use his qualities to ‘shine his light’. Shine is a touching and heart-warming story which encourages young readers to celebrate diversity and to recognise how our differences make us special. It deals confidently with issues including bullying, low self-esteem, self-confidence and forgiveness in a manner that children can comprehend.

And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street

And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street
Author: Dr. Seuss
Publisher: RH Childrens Books
Total Pages: 21
Release: 2013-10-22
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0385379315

Dr. Seuss’s very first book for children! From a mere horse and wagon, young Marco concocts a colorful cast of characters, making Mulberry Street the most interesting location in town. Dr. Seuss’s signature rhythmic text, combined with his unmistakable illustrations, will appeal to fans of all ages, who will cheer when our hero proves that a little imagination can go a very long way. (Who wouldn’t cheer when an elephant-pulled sleigh raced by?) Now over seventy-five years old, this story is as timeless as ever. And Marco’s singular kind of optimism is also evident in McElligot’s Pool.