African Critters

AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR: Robert B. Haas


PUBLISHER:   National Geographic Society

 PUBLICATION DATE: 09/09/2008

GENRE:  Non-Fiction Informational Picture Book

 READING LEVEL: 4th grade

BRIEF OVERVIEW: Dive deep into the African Savannahs and discover the different critters that live there! Here's a book for your little explorer, as Robert B. Haas introduces many animals like the cheetah, elephant, and lion, giving details of what they eat, how (if) they hunt, and what they do daily; also how they connect with one another. So get ready for a wild ride in the heart of the Savannah's, it will be one to remember.

INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: Using a flow chart, the students will describe the roles of each animal in the different safari habitats, and how they are all connected.

REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: Hannah Banbury, Valdosta State University ECSE

LABELS: Animals, Africa, Discovery, habitats, hunter.

Anansi the Spider: A Tale from the Ashanti

AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR: Gerald McDermott

PUBLISHER:Harcourt School Publishers              PUBLICATION DATE:  1972

AWARDS: Caldecott Honor Book

GENRE:  Folktales                            READING LEVEL:  1st

BRIEF OVERVIEW: The wise spider & folk hero Kwaku Anansi, has 6 even wiser sons that one day have to save him from a fish’s belly. 

INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: Students can draw a picture or design to illustrate their name.  They can use it as a name plate or transform it into a necklace using a single hole puncher and a string of yarn.

REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION:  Daphne Wright- Valdosta State University

LABELS:  Award- winning, African American, Caldecott Medal, Folktales

Africa Dream

AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR: Eloise Greenfield/Carole Byard

PUBLISHER:Harper Collins
PUBLICATION DATE: January 30th 1992 

GENRE: Fiction

READING LEVEL: 1st-3rd grade 

BRIEF OVERVIEW: The story is about an Africa American girl who dreams about an adventure in Africa and meeting her grandmother for the first time. 

INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: The students will write and draw about people, places or things they've dreamed about. 

REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: Alicia Evans- Valdosta State University 

Rain School

AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR: James Rumford

PUBLISHER: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt                     

PUBLICATION DATE: 2010

AWARDS:  Smithsonian Notable Children’s book for 2010

GENRE: Foreign    READING LEVEL: 5-8years

BRIEF OVERVIEW: In the country of Chad, Thomas is excited to learn, and the first lesson is to build the school. They build their schoolhouse and get to use it for nine months before the rain washes it away at the end of the school year. Thomas and his classmate will return and learn all over again next school year.

INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: Extend learning about this country by incorporating traditional Chad Dance, and to get students active.

REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: Jennifer Bacon – VSU

Anansi the Spider

Author/Illustrator: Gerald McDermott

PUBLISHER: Henry Holt and Company             

PUBLICATION DATE: June 18, 2009  AWARDS: Caldecott Medal

GENRE: Folktale                      READING LEVEL: Ages 4-7

BRIEF OVERVIEW: Anansi the Spider is a tale about Anansi and his six sons. Anansi falls into trouble, and all six of his sons come to his rescue. To reward them Anansi finds a shining globe of light. However, he cannot decide who to give it to. He asks his god to hold onto it until he can decide. When his god sees the sons fighting over who deserves the light, he decided to keep it in the sky. Thus giving us the moon.

INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: This is a great book to teach students about folktales and specifically African folktales. Students can learn all about Africa and the different stories that come from Africa. Then the students can write and illustrate their own African folktale. 

REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: Shayla Samaras Valdosta State University

Good Morning, Africa!

AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR: April Pulley Sayre

PUBLISHER: Millbrook Press               
 PUBLICATION DATE:  2003

GENRE: Nonfiction/Informational Picture Book      
READING LEVEL: 5-8 years

BRIEF OVERVIEW: The book informs the reader of the different landscapes we can find in Africa such as its mountains, lakes, and rivers. It introduces the different types of animals: manatees, wildebeests, and lemurs and the biomes found in Africa: savannas, rain forests, and deserts. Lastly, it talks about the diverse people that live on the continent. 

INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: For science, have the students individually create a biome that is found in Africa using a shoe box. 

REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: Tachovia Kendrick Valdosta State University Teacher Candidate 

I Lost My Tooth In Africa

TITLE: I Lost My Tooth In Africa

AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR: Penda Diakite/Baba Wague Diakite

PUBLISHER:  Scholastic Press  PUBLICATION DATE: 2006

GENRE: Foreign 1

READING LEVEL: 8 years old 

BRIEF OVERVIEW:Aminia and her family are visiting more family in Mali, West Africa. She lost her tooth and the tooth fairy brought her 2 chicken. The chickens lay eggs, but will they hatch before she leaves to go back to America?

INTEGRATED ACTIVITY: The students will create teeth out of construction paper and leave them on their desk overnight. They will then return and have to write a sentence about the book. Once they turn it in, they will get a surprise from the “tooth fairy”.

REVIEWER’S NAME & AFFILIATION: Emily Raymond LITR 3110 section A