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|  | | All the King's Animals
This a is a non-fiction account of a conservation success story in the Kingdom of Swaziland.
| |  | | Jubela
An illustrated children's book, set in Swaziland, that documents the survival of a baby rhino whose mother was killed by poachers. He survived after being adopted by an old matriarch rhino..
"What makes this book both exquisite and heartbreaking is the combination of beautifully, but simply expressed poetic prose that demonstrates a deep understanding of the orphaned calf and sensitive, skillful illustrations that show the poignancy of Jubela's sorrow and bewilderment and the vibrancy of African plains life...All people who care about their fellow creatures will find a powerful lesson here." (Starred review, School Library Journal)
A "Pick of the List" American Booksellers Association
A Nest Literary Classic Selection
A Junior Library Guild Selection
br | |  | | Konte Chameleon, Fine, Fine Fine!
This is an illustrated children's book that retells a tradiitional West African folktale about why the chameleon never hurries.
"The best picture books are those that match compelling stories with dynamic illustrations. It's a rare combination, but it's one to be found in Konte Chameleon, Fine, Fine Fine! ... Kessler's retelling makes such good use of odd, lyric sounds and repetitve language that it's almost impossible not to read - or sing - the story aloud." BOOKSHELF for Young Readers, Los Angeles Times.
This book can be ordered directly from Cristina.
| |  | | My Great-Grandmother's Gourd
This illustrated children's book, set in a traditional Sudanese village, tells the true story of a grandmother who teaches her granddaughter the wisdom of combining old and new technologies.
This book is included in the Childrens Literature Lovers Book of Lists. This unique book is written for teachers, parents, librarians and anyone who is seeking quality literature for children (preschoolers through grade 6). The book is filled with wide-ranging lists of titles organized by grade level, theme, and content areas. This comprehensive resource simplifies your search by selecting the most useful information from websites, teacher resources, award listings, and publications that are available on children’s literature. For quick access and easy use, the lists are printed in full-page | |  | | No Condition Is Permanent
When Jodie's mother decides they are moving to Sierre Leone, Jodie feels as if her world is falling apart. But she knows her worries are over as soon as she lays eyes on Khadi, a village girl. >From the first moment, the two girls are inseparable--carrying water, collecting firewood, and working in the rice fields together. Everything seems perfect to Jodie until the day the entire village breaks into a wild dance. Suddenly strange things start to happen--Khadi disappears daily, and even Jodie's mother seems nervous. "Secret Society, Jodie. Stay away from it," she warns her. But Jodie wonders what this Society is all about. Surely it can't hurt anyone if she just checks it out. Or can it?
In an unforgettable novel that teems with details of African culture and life, Cristina Kessler heroically tackles one of the most important, most controversial issues for women of our time.
When her anthropologist mom takes an assignment to study African tribal customs, 14-year-old Jodie reluctantly leaves her familiar California home for a tiny village in Sierra Leone, West Africa. Once there, Jodie encounters drenching humid heat, outdoor toilets that must always be checked for snakes and scorpions, and a plethora of new odors, most of them unpleasant. "Trapped between an open sewer and a display of hanging, smelly dried fish, I couldn't resist asking with a gag, 'Are these some of the great new smells you were talking about?'" Despite her culture shock, Jodie manages to make a | |  | | One Night: A Story from the Desert
In this picture book for older children, Muhamad spends his first night alone in the desert tending to a new mother goat and her kid. Told in Muhamad's voice, the story reflects the culture of the Tuareg, a nomadic people with strong ties to family and the desert way of life. Kessler's poetic text has rhythm and repetitionand Schoenherr's artwork is striking. --Booklist, boxed review This lovely book, with its descriptions of the desert terrain and bits of tribal wisdom, provides an informative glimpse at a distant lifestyle that will be useful in the classroom and as a read-aloud. -- School Library Journal
This book is currently only available as "Muhamad's Desert Night" published by Puffin UK. It is available on Amazon.co.uk.com or buy signed copies purchased directly from the author.
I taste the wind on my tongue
and feel the sun touch my heart
as finally I sit with my goats as they graze.
Yes, I am the wealthiest of boys.
The desert is my floor. The rocks, my pasture
where water gathers and little plants grow. There my goats can graze among the rocks.
"Be at one with your surroundings and you will be at peace," my grandmother always says.
"Al Hamdillilai!" | |  | | Our Secret, Siri Aang
Twelve-year-old Namelok can't tell anyone about her secret: a mother black rhino and her tiny baby, whom she found in the bush while collecting firewood for her Maasai family. She vows to protect them always, visit them often, and to keep them her secret.
Her visits are suddenly threatened when her initiation into womanhood becomes imminent. There will be no visiting the rhinos after that. Ever. Still, Maasai ways are changing. Can Namelok delay the initiation?
But before she can, Namelok makes a horrifying discovery, one that sends her on a dangerous journey into the bush in a desperate search for poachers and a limping man whose dragging footprints are her only chance at seeking revenge...
Award-winning author Cristina Kessler brings her firsthand knowledge and love of Africa to this powerful and authentic story of a young girl's courage to challenge tradition and to accept her dynamic role in a changing Maasai world.
Namelok stopped to catch her breath. The white sky hugged the searing heat that danced on the horizon. A somber silence filled the bush, leaving only the sound of her heartbeat banging in her chest. Knowing that she was running out of time was only part of her problem. She needed to know that the rhinos were safe. As she raced past a fallen log covered in termite hills, she pleaded, “Please, Enkai, let Emuny Narok and Siri Aang be there, waiting for me. I really need their company today. I really need to know that they are well.”
She also needed every possible minute with them. She sucked | |  | | The Best Beekeeper of Lalibela - A Tale from Africa
In the mountains of Ethiopia, a girl named Almaz vows that one day her honey will be the best in the land. But the other beekeepers laugh her away and tell her it's men's work. Almaz refuses to take no for an answer and uses her smarts to prove them all wrong. In this spirited text with stunning illustrations, a girl shows that brains - not brawn - is the key to making her dream come true.
Long ago, high in the mountains of Ethiopia, where purple shadows fill the valleys and heavy mists hug the hillsides, the bees arrived in Lalibela.
Some said they came to announce the biorth of a new king, while others thought only of thier hioney - sweet, rich and golden.
As the centuires passed and the word spread, villagers poured in from far and near to buy the sweet nectar.
| |  | | Trouble in Timbuktu
Twins Ahmed and Ayisha, have a mission - they not only want to save three ancient manuscripts of Timbuktu from being stolen, but they also want to make sure the thieves are caught in the act so they can be punished, as an example for all who might follow.
The quest to set a trap takes them into the Sahara, then down the Niger river, facing deadly challenges along the way.
Ahmed and Ayisha know there is trouble. Why are the American tourists - i>toubabs/i> -so interested in the ancient manuscripts? Could they really be planning to steal these Timbuktu treasures? br />
The two teenagers know they cannot let this happen, no matter what the cost. So they risk everything and embark on a desperate journey across the Sahara Desert, facing deadly heat and a terrifying sandstorm. The goal is nothing less than preserving an ancient piece of their very culture, saving not only a treasured part of Timbuktu, but |
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