African Icons
Ten People Who Shaped History
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
Author Tracey Baptiste takes readers on a journey across Africa to meet some of the great leaders and thinkers whose vision built a continent and shaped 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 — from Menes, the first ruler to be called Pharaoh, to Queen Idia, a sixteenth-century power broker, visionary, and diplomat — this rich and thrilling nonfiction text goes back many millennia to introduce readers to the underrepresented stories of Black history and Black excellence.
Illustrator 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.
Key Text Features
map
maps
author's note
chapters
facts
further information
further reading
headsings
historical context
historical note
foreword
illustrations
illustrator's notes
introduction
labels
photographs
references
resources
table of contents
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.3
Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on specific information in the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.3
Analyze in detail how a key individual, event, or idea is introduced, illustrated, and elaborated in a text (e.g., through examples or anecdotes).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.6
Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text and explain how it is conveyed in the text.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This riveting nonfiction work by Baptiste (the Jumbies series), aiming to reveal how "Africa has fueled the world," details the lives of 10 individuals, including Aesop, Merneith, Terence, and Tin Hinan, from African dynasties that are rarely mentioned in, and frequently deliberately eliminated from, world history. Interspersed passages of context convey a rich account of innovative, oft-untold breakthroughs that took place in Africa before European colonization: forming a functioning government, exporting goods such as turquoise and copper, and creating fine literature that evolved into the comedy of manners. From Menes's embodiment of the sacred god Horus to nomadic Berbers crossing the Sahara, readers will learn about events and figures with impressive legacies. For example, Hannibal Barca, a war tactician, outstrategized Rome for years using mobile units and the natural environment to his advantage, inspiring myriad military leaders. Each profile is accompanied by Wilson's lush full-color art, depicting African luminaries and kingdoms in all of their glory. Concise and well researched, this robust, historically accurate timeline of the "great continent and its people" will serve as an invaluable resource for years to come. Back matter features an author's note, source notes, and bibliography. Ages 8–12.
