African history for kids
‘In Africa with Avi and Kumbi’ explores the continent from ancient times to independence
PROFESSOR and historian Nomalanga Mkhize had a difficult time finding reading material on African history books for children.
“As a mother, I recognise there is not enough material that reflects positive things around black children in Africa in African languages and I am about trying to fill that gap with storybooks. With this specific one I found that the history books we did find were almost exclusively based on Egypt.”
Mkhize is the author of the history book In Africa with Avi and Kumbi and it tells the story of Africa from ancient times to independence.
Published under her pen name “Khize wamaZambezi”, the book covers important themes such as rock art, the rise of ancient civilisations and ancient trade, African philosophy, slavery, colonialism and struggles for independence.
Choosing themes for the book was a difficult task for Mkhize and her partners, art illustrator Sani Singaphi and designer Bulelani Booi.
“It was a process, thinking how we were going to write millions of years of history or gathering information around the development of life on the continent. It came down to what I thought would be a foundation for kids. If you look at the book, the themes that are there are foundational knowledge for children and adults.”
Mkhize, who presented the SABC nature travel documentary series Shoreline, said the book was for people who wanted an overview of the history of the continent.
“Children can look at that book and have all the major developments and epoch for human history in Africa. So, by the time they are reading about Islam in Africa (at a later stage) they will know where the origins are because the information is in the book. It gives you a full time span of human history in a condensed way.”
Some of the challenges she faced while putting the book together were finances and time. From paying the illustrators, to having to make time for them to all be available at the same time and getting as much research and writing done on her own.
Another major challenge was deciding on how to portray each page, how to portray Africa in a way that was new and fresh.
“For example, the page that explains apartheid was a difficult one to write as Mkhize could not decide which struggle hero pictures would be used on the page.
While the book is not in the formal market yet, it is available in the book market. “I am still talking to distributors to get into the formal market, but people that want it can email us and we will send them an order form.”
For more information on In Africa with Avi and Kumbi email kids@historyeducation.africa or visit www.historyeducation.africa | @mane_mpi