Nation Studies: Africa

Written and illustrated by Jan Brett. The story is based on an African legend about the symbiotic relationship between the honeyguide bird and the honey badger. For as long as anyone can remember, the honeyguide bird and the African honey badger have been partners when it comes to honey: the honeyguide finds the honeycomb, the honey badger breaks it open, and they share the sweetness inside. However, one day, the honey badger keeps all the honey for himself, breaking the age-old agreement.

Written by Dianne Stewart and illustrated by Jude Daly. Thulani wants to spend more time in the sun and less time doing chores around the farm, so he makes a series of lopsided exchanges in an attempt to simplify his life, until all he has left is pocketful of sunflower seeds that, once sown, prove surprisingly useful.

Written by Verna Aardema and illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon. The story follows a chain of events triggered by a mosquito's lie to an iguana, leading to a series of actions that ultimately result in an owlet's death.

Written and illustrated by Anne Rockwell. An African girl sang so sweetly that a wicked Zimwe abducted her and put her in his drum

Retold by Verna Aardema and illustrated by Marcia Brown. The story is a humorous African folktale that explains why the ostrich has a long neck.

Written by Janet Palazzo-Craig and illustrated by Charles Reasoner. The story is based on a folktale from the Akamba people of East Africa. It tells the story of Muoma, who embarks on a long journey and is given a magic seed.

Written by Verna Aardema and illustrated by Beatriz Vidal. A traditional African folk tale that follows the story of Ki-pat, a young herd boy who seeks to bring rain to the drought-stricken Kapiti Plain.

Written by Verna Aardema and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. It is an adaptation of a Swahili folktale about Rabbit tricking Lion over a calabash tree. The story follows Rabbit, aided by her friends Turtle and Bush-rat, as she sets out to outwit Lion in order to feast on the honey in Lion's calabash tree.

Written and illustrated by Gail E. Haley. The book is about how the trickster Anansi obtained stories from the Sky God to give to the children of the earth. Long ago, there were no stories on earth for children to hear. All stories belonged to Nyame, the Sky god. Ananse, the Spider man, wanted to buy some of these stories, so he spun a web up to the sky and went to bargain with the Sky god. The price the Sky god asked was Osebo, the leopard-of-the-terrible-teeth, Mmboro the hornet who-stings-like-fire and Mmoatia the fairy whom-man-never-see. This book is about how Ananse paid the price.

Retold by Melinda Lilly and illustrated by Charles Reasoner. In the story, Ananse, known for his cleverness and trickery, sets out to gather all the wisdom he believes he has wasted on the villagers. However, he learns a valuable lesson when his son, Ntikuma, suggests a simpler way to carry the pot of wisdom, which ultimately leads to the pot breaking and the wisdom being scattered throughout the world.