I realized how difficult it is to describe what life is like for a child growing up in Africa when I was asked to make a presentation to two 6th grade classes. In the course of the presentation, I said,  Africa is not a country:\u27 I had to smile to myself as I saw the shocked look on the face of a little girl sitting right in front of me. Her mouth dropped open and I knew that she thought I had made a very great error

Bowen, Dorothy N.

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Eastern Kentucky University

Eastern Kentucky UniversityEncompassCurriculum and Instruction Faculty and StaffScholarship Curriculum and InstructionJune 2007Another Look at African Cultures through PictureBooksDorothy N. BowenEastern Kentucky University, dorothy.bowen@eku.eduFollow this and additional works at: http://encompass.eku.edu/ci_fsresearchPart of the Education Commons, and the Library and Information Science CommonsThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Curriculum and Instruction at Encompass. It has been accepted for inclusion inCurriculum and Instruction Faculty and Staff Scholarship by an authorized administrator of Encompass. For more information, please contactLinda.Sizemore@eku.edu.Recommended CitationBowen, Dorothy N., "Another Look at African Cultures through Picture Books" (2007). Curriculum and Instruction Faculty and StaffScholarship. Paper 19.http://encompass.eku.edu/ci_fsresearch/19by Dorothy N. Bowenrealized how difficult it is to describewhat life is like for a child growingup in Africa when I was asked to makea presentation to two 6th grade classes.In the course of the presentation, I said,"Africa is not a country:' I had to smileto myself as I saw the shocked look onthe face of a little girl sitting right infront of me. Her mouth dropped openand I knew that she thought I had madea very great error. That is a commonmisperception aboutForygu Africa, the continent,S,Kern h made up of more than50 individual nations. and at least 800 distinct• ~ cultures. It is impossibleMto overemphasize thediversity of such a vastcontinent that coversan area greater than theUnited States, China,Japan, and Europe•• combined.Recently, many picture book authors have at-tempted to paint word pictures that portray life inmany of these African cultures while illustratorshave created accompanying pictures. Both have triedto help children living in America identify in someway with the life being described. Cunnanes bookFor You Are a Kenyan Child puts it this way:Imagine you live in a small Kenyan village, wherethe sun rises over tall trees filled with doves. Youwake to the sound of a rooster's crow, instead ofan alarm clock and the school bus. Your afternoonsnack is a tasty bug plucked from the sky, insteadof an apple. And rather than kicking a soccer ballacross a field, you kick a homemade ball of ragsdown a dusty road. But despite this, things aren'tthat different for a Kenyan child than they wouldbe for an American kid, are they? With so muchgoing on around you, it's just as easy to forget whatyour mama asked you to do! (dust jacket)This article will take a look at some of these re-cently published picture books about Africa. Eachone describes some aspect of life in an Africancountry and examines both the similarities and thedifferences between these cultures and the culturesof the children we see in our classrooms every day.Perhaps, we will find that the differences are not asgreat as we expect them to be.There are customs in many parts of Africa whichan American child would find quite unusual. Thesediffering customs begin with the naming of a new-born baby. Onyefulu, a West African writer, haswritten the book Welcome Dedeh: An African Nam-ing Ceremony on this custom in Ghana. The book istold from Amarlai's viewpoint who has a new cousin22 School Library Media Activities Monthly/Volume XXIII, Number 10/June 2007Dorothy N. Bowen, Ph.D. is Associate Professor, Library Media,College of Education at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond,KY. Phone: (859) 622-2164; Fax: (859)622-2004. Email: Dorothy.Bowen@EKU.EDULand thinks she needs a name other than "baby." Heknows, however, that in his part of Ghana a child isnot named until she is eight days old, and the nameshe is given must be very carefully chosen. The storytells how that might be done. For example, Amarlai'smother's name is Ayeley because she is the firstdaughter, and his own name means he is the fifthson. Finally, the day comes and the ceremony begins.It is a ceremony of prayer and a tiny bit of corn wineis dropped on the baby's tongue. Grandfather thensays, "Your name is Dede." That is just the beginningof the celebration with gift giving and partying.In another book, One BigFamily, Onyefuluwrites that in Eastern Nigeria the time a child isborn determines the ogbo, or age group, he or shewill belong to for the rest of his or her life. Everychild, together with all of the other children bornwithin a five-year period, share with each other intimes of joy and in times of sorrow.Childhood and village life is also unique depend-ing on the part of Africa where a child grows up.Diakit6, in the book I Lost My Tooth in Africa, de-scribes how losing a tooth in Mali brings a chickeninstead of cash. The Chamberlins, in the book MamaI Panyas Pancakes: A Village Talefrom Kenya, weave a tale thatdemonstrates that even a sim-ple meal of pancakes can growinto a village event in Kenya.Ebeles Favourite: A Book of Af-rican Games by Onyefulu illus-trates how games can bring thechildren of a West African vil-lage together. These games, notunique to Nigeria and Senegal,are quite distinctive to that partof the world. For example thestory tells about Ncho, a count-• T. ,t1e ing game that requires seedsand a beautifully carved board.Celebrations which inthemselves are common tomany parts of the world areSacculturated by the African set-i' '• ting where they take place. For- example, Johnston, in the bookA Kenya Christmas, depictshow Kenyan culture some-times makes the celebrationof Christmas its own. EveryDecember Jumads aunt Aidacomes to Nairobi to visit, andone particular year she seeks [ .to fulfill Juma's wish to see Fa-ther Christmas. On ChristmasEve, when the people gathertogether to eat mandazis (Af-rican doughnuts) and chapa-tis (African bread), FatherChristmas arrives riding anelephant! This is a truly Ken-yan Christmas! FTolWedding customs also dif- Tt ,fer around the world. In recentyears, two picture books havebeen published on wedding i' icustoms in Africa. Onyefuu'sstory, Here Comes Our Bride!: A IE.0An African Wedding Story, comes from Nigeria andgives us a look at the discussion between the fami-lies, the presentation of gifts to the bride's family,and the ceremony itself. The preparations for a wed-ding in the Kikuyu culture of Kenya are told by theyounger sister of the bride. A bride price of cows,sheep, and goats is given and sister Wangari is car-ried off to cheers and songs from the crowd and thentaken to her new home. The songs and celebrationlast for eight days, and when Wambui goes to bedthat night she thinks about her sister who is no lon-ger sharing a room with her.A recently published story of southern Sudan,Brothers in Hope, gives us a window into a life thatfew American children can relate to. When Garangwas eight years old he began to tend some calvesof his own. One day everything in his life changedwhen his village was attacked. His animals werekilled and his family disappeared. He joined the"Lost Boys of Sudan," and life was very difficult asthey walked along the road to the refugee camp inEthiopia. Later his journey took him to Kakumacamp in Kenya and finally to a more promising lifein the United States. Gurang and thousands of otherLost Boys have now settled in the United States.Now, let's look at picture books that demonstratethe commonalities between children growing upin North America and those growing up in vari-ous parts of Africa. Little Karoo in South Africa, inDaly's book Once Upon a Time, struggles to learn toSchool Library Media Activities Monthly/Volume XXI=I, Number 10/June 2007 23•< •i ¢'• read just as a child might do inany part of the world. Bncour-agement from Auntie Annabuilds her confidence and herS' reading skills. Sosu, in SosusS Call by Asare, deals with a dis-. ability in a situation not at allSUunique to Ghana. However, his-al I .I village does not offer assistanceto a child like Sosu until oneday when he is instrumental insaving his village from a seriousdisaster. As a result, he becomesa hero and gains the attentionof an aid group which provides...... ....... him with a wheelchair.Children around the worldA, will identify with Lateef, a Ni-gerian boy, who wants to learnSto ride a bicycle in the bookBikes for Rent by Olaleye. Everychild who has had to move andF ~ change schools will understandHassan's difficulty with adjust-ing to his new school when hemoves from Somalia in Hoff-man's The Color of Home.Two books, Can You Hearthe Sea? by Cumberbatch and71)m W Guguýs House by Stock focuson the universal topic of thelove between grandparents andgrandchildren. Cumberbatch'sbook takes place in West Africa,and Stock's book takes place inthe grassy plains of Zimbabwe.Though they are worlds apart,both stories tell about the happyevent of visiting grandparents.A conversation between a Masai boy and hisfather is related in Jooses book Papa, Do You LoveMe?. The father's answer is the same as would comefrom a father in any part of the world, "I'll care foryou, love you, and teach you. Always. Because I amyour papa, and you are my Tender Heart"' And Ama,a young Kenyan who is seeking The Most ImportantGift of All, asks the weaverbird, the lion, and the gi-raffe until she discovers the answer. Her gift to herbaby brother will be the gift of her love. Stories suchas these make African culture quite accessible to thechildren in our American classrooms.ReferencesAsare, Meshack. Sosu's Call. Kane/Miller, 2002.Chamberlin, Mary and Rich Chamberlin. Mama Panya's Pan-cakes: A Village Tale from Kenya. Mllus. by Julia Cairns. BarefootBooks, 2005.Conway, David. The Most Important Gift ofAll. lus. by KarinLittlewood. Gingham Dog, 2006.Cumberbatch, Judy. Can You Hear the Sea? Mhus. by Ken Wilson-Max. Bloomsbury Books, 2006.Cunnane, Kelly. For You Are a Kenyan Child. Illus. byAna Juan.Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2006.Daly, Jude. To Everything There Is a Season. Eerdmans Books forYoung Readers, 2006.Daly, Nild. Once Upon a Time. Farrar,Straus and Giroux, 2003. •vij tDiakit6, Penda. ILostMy Tooth in Af-rica. Mllus. by Baba Wagu6 Diakite.Scholastic, 2006.Hoffman, Mary. The Color of Home.Illus. by Karin Littlewood. PhyllisFogelmann Books, 2002.Johnston, Tony. A Kenya Christmas.Illus. by Leonard Jenkins. HolidayHouse, 2003.Joosse, Barbara M. Papa, Do You Love hit steMe? Mhus. by Barbara Lavallee. UP 6Chronicle Books, 2005.Mbuthia, Waithira. My Sister's Wedding:A Story of Kenya. Mhus. by GeoffreyGacheru Karanja. Soundprints Divi- ?sion of Trudy Corporation, 2002.Olaleye, Isaac. Bikes for Rent. Illus.byChris Demarest. Orchard Books,2001.Onyefulu, Ifeoma. Ebele's Favourite: ABook of African Games. F Lincoln,2000.Onyefulu, Ifeoma. Here Comes Our 1-fte..Bride!: An African Wedding Story. ELincoln, 2004.Onyefulu, Ifeoma. One Big Family: .SharingLife in an African Village. ELincoln, 1996.Onyefulu, Ifeoma. Welcome Dede!: AnAfrican Naming Ceremony. F. Lin-coln, 2003.Stock, Catherine. Gugu's House. ClarionBooks, 2001.Williams, Mary. Brothers in Hope: TheStory of the Lost Boys of Sudan. IlMus.by R. Gregory Christie. Lee & Low -B• oks, 2005.24 School Library MediaActivities Monthly/Volume XXIAI MUerln/,T11ne2007COPYRIGHT INFORMATIONTITLE: Another Look at African Cultures through Picture BooksSOURCE: School Library Media Activities Monthly 23 no10 Je2007PAGE(S): 22-4The magazine publisher is the copyright holder of this article and itis reproduced with permission. Further reproduction of this article inviolation of the copyright is prohibited.

Another Look at African Cultures through Picture Books

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Another Look at African Cultures through Picture Books

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