Africa

First Grade Unit @ BCSIS

Why Mosquitos Buzz in People's Ears Verna Ardema fiction West African legend of why the mosquito has a guilty conscience for all the trouble she caused by telling a lie.

My Painted House, My Friendly Chicken and Me Maya Angelou non-fiction older kids? advanced reader An eight-year-old Ndebele girl named Thandi describes her pet chicken, painting special designs on her house, dressing up for school, and her mischievous brother, in the re-release of a title that celebrates the joys and challenges of growing up in South

Beatrice's Goat Paige McBrier fiction A young girl's dream of attending school in her small Ugandan village is fulfilled after her family is given an income-producing goat. Based on a true story about the work of Heifer Project International.

Nappy Hair Carolivia Herron fiction Various people at a backyard picnic offer their comments on a young African-American girl's tightly curled, "nappy" hair.

Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters, An African Folktale John Steptoe fiction Mufaro's two beautiful daughters, one bad-tempered, one kind and sweet, go before the king, who is choosing a wife.

[|The story of Doctor Dolittle: being the history of his peculiar life at home and astonishing adventures in foreign parts. Never before printed] Author: Lofting, Hugh, 1886-1947 Publisher: Books of Wonder/W. Morrow Pub Date: 1997 Lexile: 580 [|[view chart]] Fiction advanced readers The adventures of a kind-hearted doctor, who is fond of animals and understands their language. Through the animals, Doctor Dolittle learns of an epidemic among the monkeys in //**Africa**// and sails away to contain the outbreak.

[|Anansi and the moss-covered rock] Eric Kimmel Fiction Anansi the Spider uses a strange moss-covered rock in the forest to trick all the other animals, until Little Bush Deer decides he needs to learn a lesson.

Other Anansi Tales.....

[|Anansi the spider: a tale from the Ashanti] Gerold McDermmot In trying to determine which of his six sons to reward for saving his life, Anansi the Spider is responsible for placing the moon in the sky.

[|Anansi and the magic stick] Author: Kimmel, Eric A. Publisher: Holiday House Pub Date: 2001 Lexile: 170 Anansi trickster tales ISBN: 9780823414437 NoveList Best Summary: Anansi the Spider steals Hyena's magic stick so he won't have to do the chores, but when the stick's magic won't stop, he gets more than he bargained for.

[|Anansi and the talking melon] Author: Kimmel, Eric A. Publisher: Holiday House Pub Date: 1994 Lexile: 340 fiction Anansi trickster tales Summary: A clever spider tricks Elephant and some other animals into thinking the melon in which he is hiding can talk.

[|The people could fly: American Black folktales] Author: Hamilton, Virginia, 1936-2002 Publisher: A. A. Knopf Pub Date: 1985 Lexile: 480 Adult-directed text read it first for advanced readers Nonfiction Retold African-American folktales of animals, fantasy, the supernatural, and desire for freedom, born of the sorrow of the slaves, but passed on in hope.

[|Bringing the rain to Kapiti Plain: a Nandi tale] Author: Aardema, Verna, 1911- Publisher: Dial Press Pub Date: 1981 Popularity: Fiction Summary: A cumulative rhyme relating how Ki-pat brought rain to the drought-stricken Kapiti Plain. [|Mrs. Katz and Tush] Author: Polacco, Patricia Publisher: Bantam Books Pub Date: 1992 Lexile: 530 Younger Kids Fiction Summary: A long-lasting friendship develops between Larnel, a young //**Africa**// -American, and Mrs. Katz, a lonely, Jewish widow, when Larnel presents Mrs. Katz with a scrawny kitten without a tail. [|Galimoto] Author: Williams, Karen Lynn Publisher: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books Pub Date: 1990 Lexile: 520 Fiction Summary: Walking through his village, a young African boy finds the materials to make a special toy. [|Vision of beauty: the story of Sarah Breedlove Walker] Author: Lasky, Kathryn Publisher: Candlewick Press Pub Date: 2000 Lexile: 870 BIOGRAPHY, nonfiction Summary: A biography of Sarah Breedlove Walker who, though born in poverty, pioneered in hair and beauty care products for black women, and became a great financial success. [|Beautiful blackbird] Author: Bryan, Ashley Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers Pub Date: 2003 Lexile: 540 Nonfiction Summary: In a story of the Ila people, the colorful birds of //**Africa**// ask Blackbird, whom they think is the most beautiful of birds, to decorate them with some of his "blackening brew.".

[|My life with the chimpanzees] Author: Goodall, Jane, 1934- Publisher: Pocket Books Pub Date: 1996 Lexile: 910 Nonfiction advanced readers...AUTOBIOGRAPHY Summary: The well-known English zoologist describes her early interest in animals and how this led to her study of chimpanzees at the Gombe Stream Reserve in Tanzania.

[|The black snowman] Author: Mendez, Phil Publisher: Scholastic Pub Date: 1989 Lexile: 550 fiction, advanced readers, read first..read aloud? Summary: Through the powers of a magical Kente, a brightly colored African cloth, a Black snowman comes to life and helps young Jacob discover the beauty of his Black heritage as well as his own self-worth.