3 pages from inside this book
African Icons: Ten People Who Shaped History
- Subject
- History - Africa
- Age
- 9-12 years
- Format
- Trade Paperback
- Pages
- 176
- Publisher
- Algonquin Young Readers
- Size
- 15.2 cm × 22.9 cm
- ISBN
- 9781523525706
In this expansive collection of history, meet ten real-life kings, queens, inventors, scholars, and visionaries who lived in Africa thousands of years ago and changed the world.
Black history begins thousands of years ago with the many cultures and people of the African continent. Through portraits of ten heroic figures, bestselling author Tracey Baptiste takes readers on an empowering, energetic journey through time to meet some of the great leaders and thinkers whose vision built nations and shaped the course of history:
Menes: Creator of Dynasties Merneith: A Queen Erased Imhotep: From Peasant to God Aesop: The Wisest Man in the Ancient World Hannibal Barca: Unparalleled Military Strategist Terence: North African Playwright Amanirenas: Warrior, Diplomat, Queen Tin Hinan: Founder of a City on the Dunes Mansa Musa: The Richest Man of All Time Queen Idia: KingmakerIllustrator Hillary D. Wilson's brilliant portraits accompany each profile, along with vivid, information-filled landscapes, maps, and graphics for readers to pore over and return to again and again. This rich and thrilling work, which celebrates Black excellence and provides an essential correction to Eurocentric tellings of history, will enthrall readers of all ages.
“In African Icons, Baptiste engages in the hard work of unveiling the myths about the African continent to young readers . . . This is a great beginner’s guide to pre-colonial Africa.” —Ibram X. Kendi, National Book Award-winning author of Stamped from the Beginning and How to Be an Antiracist
Data provided by BiblioShare.
What reviewers said
“African Icons is a great read… It empowers Black kids, informing them that they can do great things just like the people before them. …jam-packed with amazing facts.”
"Baptiste sheds light on the rich and complex pre-enslavement history of the African continent . . . A spellbinding collection . . . An impeccably researched revelation that fills a too wide gap in collections; it’s unfair how long it’s taken for these histories to be made public to young readers.”
"True, lively, kid-friendly, and fun to read, even if you're an adult."
"A fascinating and informative journey across Africa to meet some of the great leaders and thinkers whose vision built a continent and shaped the world. . . Enhanced with the museum quality artwork of Hillary Wilson, African Icons: Ten People Who Shaped History is an inherently entertaining and impressively informative history that is the perfect introduction to African history."
A New York Public Library 2021 Best Book for Kids
A 2021 Kids' Indie Next Pick
A Kirkus and SLJ Best Book of 2021
"Readers will be fascinated by the lives of these icons and gain a real appreciation of Africa’s underrepresented place in world history."
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