Review: Africa Amazing Africa by Atinuke, illustrated by Mouni Feddag

Africa is roughly three times larger than Europe so producing a reference book about the human, physical, and cultural features of all 55 African countries (including Western Sahara) is no mean feat! 

Award-winning Nigerian author Atinuke, known for her charming Anna Hibiscus stories, has done just that, providing a much-needed addition to the children's non-fiction genre. 

Africa: Amazing Africa is a beautifully illustrated large hardback containing fascinating descriptions of this vast continent, in a child-friendly, easy-to-read format. 

The book is arranged logically into the five African regions, with countries listed alphabetically so children can navigate the contents in a straightforward way. 

Each page describes an individual country's significant features while general pages on religion, hairstyles, and football are included as an added bonus. (Tantalisingly, Antinuke suggests football was played in Africa long before the international rules were formalised in the 1860s.) 

The concisely written content is varied and engaging, and wide-line spacing means the text is accessible for readers in lower KS2. Additionally, debut book illustrator Mouni Feddag's wonderfully detailed colourful illustrations are a triumph, adding warmth, depth, and vibrancy. 

The book is not intended as a detailed study of every country. What you get is a short overview, mainly geographical in focus, with a mix of fact and opinion which makes for interesting discussion with older children. The text might be particularly useful to dip into if you are studying an African locality with your class but you will need to supplement with supporting material (history/geography).

I love that the introduction to each region showcases the word 'welcome' translated into numerous regional languages, using various scripts to highlight individuality. Similar language displays could be replicated in your classroom/school entrance with children or parents/carers contributing words written in their home-languages in authentic scripts (PSHE).

When my son declared that 'all Africans live in huts' I realised he needed to explore a text that would gently challenge his generalised viewpoint. This book celebrates Africa's multicultural diversity and fluidity, and children will learn that it's a place where ancient traditions coexist with modern adaptations. For example, high-tech industrial cities sit adjacent to palm-lined beaches, billionaire bankers live alongside cattle herders and hunter-gatherers, and some nomads use GPS tracking on mobile phones.

In her author's note, Antinuke makes clear that she can only offer a flavour of what Africa is like right now; the book is not a definite factual guide. It's an exciting starting point for children keen to learn more about the unique countries of this amazing continent.  

You can purchase Africa: Amazing Africa (Walker Books 2019) from Black Star Books.

Guide for teachers and parents

Genre	Non-fiction: non-chronological report/information book
Child-led interests (EYFS)	N/A
Age group (EYFS, KS1, KS2)	KS2 (lower)
Curriculum links/topics (EYFS/NC)	English Reading Comprehension: (Y3/4) − listening to and discussing a wide range of fiction, poetry, plays, non-fiction and reference  books or textbooks reading books that are structured in different ways and reading for a range of purposes using dictionaries to check the meaning of words that they have read checking that the text makes sense to them, discussing their understanding, and explaining the meaning of words in context asking questions to improve their understanding of a text identifying main ideas drawn from more than 1  paragraph and summarising these identifying how language, structure, and presentation contribute to meaning retrieve and record information from non-fiction participate in discussion about both books that are read to them and those they can read for themselves, taking turns and listening to what others say PSHE & Citizenship: diversity, respect for other cultures, our community
Suitability	whole-class teaching; class/school library; independent reader, home reader
General features	topic title; introductions; info grouped in paragraphs and divided by lines; generally written in the present tense except for extra historical details; descriptions supported with extra details; contents and index pages; bulleted text; bold headings/subheadings; varied fonts, occasional text written in regional scripts; third-person pronouns

All the Black children's books that I review are checked against my Jericho Benchmark.