Beyond the Secret Garden: How to Write Children’s Books about Africa

In the latest in our long-running Beyond the Secret Garden series, Darren Chetty and Karen Sands-O’Connor take a trip to Africa in children’s books.

In 2005, Binyavanga Wainaiana produced a satirical manual on ‘How to Write About Africa’ for the magazine Granta.  Many of the stereotypes of Africa and Africans that he describes came out of British (and other colonial powers’) children’s literature, and many can still be found today.  The idea that writers should ‘treat Africa as one country’ or that taboo subjects include ‘mention of school-going children who are not suffering from yaws or Ebola fever or female genital mutilation,’ the notion that African animals, unlike African people, should ‘be treated as well rounded, complex characters’: these can all be found in empire-era books by authors such as H. Rider Haggard, Rudyard Kipling, and Hugh Lofting.  However, these ideas persisted beyond the British Empire in children’s literature; Yulisa Amadu and Donnarae MacCann wrote about Neo-Imperialism in Children’s Literature about Africa (2009), arguing that ‘Africa as a ‘dark place’ has been combined with contemporary Western interests such as environmental protection, Western feminism, disease prevention, law and order, and ethnic-based wars.  But the ‘darkness’ theme has remained’ (p. 18).

This darkness comes in two ways in children’s literature: books that reproduce colonial stereotypes (or ‘classic’ books that remain in print—such as Rider Haggard’s King Solomon’s Mines); and the one-way globalization of publishing, which has meant the spread of British books throughout the world, along with the ignorance or refusal of British publishing to acknowledge African writers for children. While most British readers have heard of Chinua Achebe, for example, whose books are widely published in the UK and globally, few are aware of Achebe’s compatriot Cyprian Ekwensi.  Concerned about the Britishness of African education, Ekwensi produced several children’s stories and collections of folktales in the 1960s, many that connect directly with Nigerian history or the social problems of a newly-independent country and their affect on children.  The Drummer Boy (1960), for example, discusses social welfare and disability in a modern, urban Nigeria.  Some of Ekwensi’s work was published by British publishers (or their African branches), such as Cambridge University Press or Longman, but more recent editions have only been published in Africa or by African presses.  Perhaps even more unknown is the writing of Barbara Kimenye, born Barbara Holdsworth in Halifax, West Yorkshire.  Kimenye, of dual English and West Indian heritage, became, according to her Guardian obituary, ‘One of East Africa’s most popular children’s writers’, but her stories about the schoolboy, Moses Kibaya, which were published between 1968 and 1987 are almost unheard of in Britain.  While British literature from the 1960s still has currency around the world (Roald Dahl’s work is one pertinent example, since the Oompa Loompas were originally designed as a ‘pygmy’ tribe), African literature from the same time period is largely unknown outside its area of origin.

However, recent African-born British writers have begun to attempt to counter stereotypes and change images of Africa in British children’s literature.  Nigerian-born British writer Atinuke’s Africa, Amazing Africa (Walker 2019), with illustrations by Algerian-born Briton Mouni Feddag, demonstrates the variety of the continent’s geography, climate, wildlife, urban technology, and cultures by showcasing every country separately.  Atinuke has also published early chapter books for Walker such as her Too Small Tola books, set in a bustling, urban Lagos; the Anna Hibiscus series, set in a less urban environment. Her L is for Love, illustrated by Angela Brooksbank, shows a family selling their luscious lemons at the market in Lagos and her No. 1 Car Spotter series about a boy who comes from a ‘bush village’.  By having her protagonists mirror the varied experiences found in her nonfiction about Africa, Atinuke rejects the notion that Africa has one single story or that authors must rely on stereotypes to be published by mainstream British publishers.

British-born Sabine Adeyinka spent several years at a boarding school in Nigeria and based some of her adventures in Jummy at the River School (Chicken House) on this experience.  Adeyinka’s books deal frankly with issues of class as well as with the effects of industry on the African climate and environment.  Jummy is confounded by the lack of equity in the society surrounding her, but takes direct action to make positive changes, and encourages her friends to do so as well.  Through Jummy, Adeyinka portrays an image of the African person who is not helpless and reliant on outside actors, as colonial literature tended to suggest.

The environment is often a key issue in literature for children about Africa. Jummy discovers a bakery polluting the river that her school is named for, and works to stop this destruction of her environment.  Zimbabwe-born Ken Wilson-Max’s picture book, Eco Girl (Otter-Barry 2022) focuses on the wisdom of an African grandmother who teaches her granddaughter about the importance of planting and looking after trees.  Wilson-Max’s story is not as confrontational as Adeyinka’s, but it provides a gentle and informative environmental message; the notes in the back include reference to African activist Wangari Maathai who started the Green Belt Movement in Kenya, again reinforcing the notion that Africans do not need to rely on European or American aid to improve their environment.

A number of recently published books on aspects of African history avoid the long-established habit in British publishing of beginning narratives of African history with the arrival of Europeans. The five book Black History series published by Franklin Watts (2010) and written by Dan Lyndon, begins with a book entitled African Empires and features the Kingdon of Ta-Seti, Kumbi Saleh in ancient Ghana, The Empire of Mali, The Empire of Songhai, The Kingdom of Benin, and Great Zimbabwe. Migration: Journeys Through Black British History (2022), written by Millie Mensha and illustrated by Camilla Ru, includes sections on African migration during Tudor times as well as discussion of African people in the Roman Empire

Aspects of African history are included in Hear Our Voices: A Powerful Retelling of the British Empire Through 20 True Stories (2023) written by Radhika Natarajan and Chad Tayiana and illustrated by Alexander Mostov. The book includes discussion of ‘Agents of Empire’, which includes Edward Colston, Cecil Rhodes and David Livingstone about whom they write, ‘He wanted to abolish slavery, but he also believed Christianity and British values gave Britain a responsibility to rule over others’ (p11). There are full sections on Olaudah Equiano, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, Field Marshal Muthoni and Kwame Nkrumah as well as Mohandas Gandhi whose political life began in South Africa.

Music and food remain popular themes for children’s books relating to Africa. Musical World: Modern World History as You’ve Never Heard it Before (2023), written by Jeffrey Boakye, art by Ngadi Smart is the sequel to Musical Truth: A Musical Journey through Modern Black Britain (2021). Both books include Boakye’s discussion of songs by African artists. Joyful Joyful, curated by Dapo Adeola (2022) includes Nigerian Jollof written and illustrated by Dapo Adeola, Nan’s Jollof Rice written by Rosaline Tella, illustrated by Dapo Adeola, and Plantain Moi Moi written by Adejoké ‘Joké’ Bakare, illustrated by Ojima Abalaka.

A number of fantasy books informed by African tales have been published recently. Yomi and the Fury of Ninki Nanka (2023) written by Davina Tijani and illustrated by Adam Douglas-Bagley is a fantasy tale set in The Gambia. Yomi and her brother kayode set off to save the Dragon King Ninki Nanka, who has been kidnapped from the sky. Kòkú Àkànbí and the Heart of Midnight (2023) written by Maria Motúnráyò Adébísí and illustrated by Simone Douglas is a fantasy tale set in Nigeria drawing on West African mythology.

Recently there have been moves to broaden the range of representations of African people in British picture books. Since its publication in 1994, Eileen Browne’s Handa’s Surprise has been a mainstay of Key Stage 1 classrooms and is often the one picturebook that teachers have used if and when they teach lessons relating to Africa. Handa’s journey to take fruit to her friend Akeyo bears some resemblance to the European traditional tale of Little Red Riding Hood. However, whereas Little Red Riding’s story has magical elements in the form of a talking wolf, the animals in Handa’s surprise are not anthropomorphised. This may be part of the reason (along with the dearth of options) why Handa’s Surprise has been used by teachers to teach about Africa, whereas Little Red Riding Hood is not used to teach anything about Europe. Also, while Little Red Riding Hood includes three generations of family, Handa’s family are not depicted. Indeed, it is only in the final two spreads that Handa interacts with another human; for the rest of the story she is silent. Handa is mostly depicted moving through the landscape with only animals visible. Many of the animals and fruits included in the story will likely be viewed as exotic by many (but not all) young readers in the UK, where the book was published. It may well be that Handa too is read by some readers as an additional element of the exotic landscape. Some of Wainaiana’s critique holds for Handa’s Surprise; she appears to not be a school-going child, and the animals are granted as much characterisation as the human characters. The notes following the dedication state that, ‘[t]he children featured in this book are from the Luo tribe of south-west Kenya.’ This is the only specificity offered in the book. Despite these criticisms, Handa’s Surprise offers an engaging narrative with vibrant illustrations of an African child.

In Our Story Starts in Africa (2022), illustrated by Jeanetta Gonzales, writer Patrice Lawrence offers a fictional story that also works as a telling of African history that encompasses pre-colonial Africa, Queen Amanirenas, the Library of Alexandria, the scramble for Africa, the colonization of Africa and the Caribbean and the enslavement of African people by Europeans. Based in some part on Lawrence’s own childhood, young Paloma is visiting her family in Trinidad but they are questioning her accent. Tante Janet tells her a story of how Paloma’s family (and by extension the African diaspora) have a shared history that begins in Africa. Lawrence deftly balances themes of uplift and celebration with histories of oppression, demonstrating the possibility of providing such wider-ranging, complex narratives for young picture book readers. She achieves this through a dual narrative, where the story in Trinidad is not merely a device for the telling of African history. Rather, Paloma and her family are developed as characters with their own personalities. At particular moments the two stories connect. ‘Our lands were chopped up, mixed up and squashed together’, says Tante Janet, as Gonzales shows us her hand slicing fruit.   A final spread offers some more historical context for Paloma’s questions as well as suggested further reading, including Atinuke and K.N. Chimbiri. Lawrence and Gonzales have provided a model for how books about Africa can go beyond the tropes Wainaiana identifies, to offer enduring stories that respect children’s capacity for understanding.

Karen Sands-O’Connor is the British Academy Global Professor for Children’s Literature Newcastle University. Her books include Children’s Publishing and Black Britain 1965-2015 (Palgrave Macmillan 2017).

Darren Chetty is a teacher, doctoral researcher and writer with research interests in education, philosophy, racism, children’s literature and hip-hop culture. He is a contributor to The Good Immigrant, edited by Nikesh Shukla, and the author, with Jeffrey Boakye, of What Is Masculinity? Why Does It Matter? And Other Big Questions. He tweets at @rapclassroom.

Books mentioned:

Too Small Tola Atinuke, illus Onyinye Iwu, Walker Books, series

Anna Hibiscus, Atinuke, illus Lauren Tobia, Walker Books, series

L is for Love, Atinkue, illus Angela Brooksbank, Walker Books, 978-1529501483, £12.99 hbk

Africa, Amazing Africa, Atinuke, illus Mouni Feddag, Walker Books, 978-1406376586, £14.99 hbk

Jummy at the River School, Sabine Adeyinka Chicken House, 978-1913696047, £6.99 pbk

Eco Girl, Ken Wilson-Max, Otter-Barry Books, 978-1913074319, £12.99 hbk

Migration: Journeys Through Black British History, Millie Mensha, illus Camilla Ru

Hear Our Voices: A Powerful Retelling of the British Empire Through 20 True Stories, Radhika Natarajan & Chad Tayiana, illus Alexander Mostov, Wide Eyed Editions, 978-0711266933, £14.99 hbk

Musical World: Modern World History as You’ve Never Heard it Before, Jeffrey Boakye, ills Ngadi Smart, Faber & Faber, 978-0571377497,£8.99 pbk

Joyful Joyful, Dapo Adeola and Patrice Lawrence, Two Hoots, 978-1529071504, £20.00 hbk

Yomi and the Fury of Ninki Nanka, Davina Tijani, illus Adam Douglas-Bagley, Little Tiger, 978-1788956123, 36.99 pbk

Kòkú Àkànbí and the Heart of Midnight, Maria Motunrayo Adebisi Orion Children’s Books, 978-1510111431, £7.99 pbk

Handa’s Surprise, Eileen Browne, Scholastic, 978-0744536348, £7.99 pbk

Our Story Starts in Africa, Patrice Lawrence, illus Jeanetta Gonzales, Magic Cat Publishing, 978-1913520588, £12.99 pbk