Africa, Amazing Africa: Country by country by Atinuke, illustrated by Mouni Feddag

I stopped purchasing the ubiquitous and pricey "country sets" years ago, but I still like to have some information on the geography and cultures of the world. It can be difficult to find titles that are not the expensive series nonfiction, which quickly date and are not, in my opinion, worth the cost. However, I would like to have something more than just the online resources.

I was very interested when I saw Atinuke, who created the delightful Anna Hibiscus books, had made a country by country survey of the continent of Africa. The book is divided into directional areas - south, east, west, central and north Africa, and each area explores the countries there.

The introduction explains, in simple, clear language that Africa is not a country, it is a continent with an enormous diversity of cultures, languages, and landscapes and is a vital part of the global village with a strong history and many challenges in the future. Each geographical area is introduced with a colorful map, a list of the countries and kingdoms within that area, a sampling of languages, and a few sentences describing the area. One or two pages are devoted to each individual country or kingdom, with notes on the unique features, challenges, and culture of that area.

Readers will learn about ancient dinosaur prints in Lesotho, the salt desert of Namibia, the drums of Burundi, Ethiopia's religious traditions, and Madagascar's unique wildlife. Atinuke doesn't ignore the darker side, but speaks positively of hope for the future and focuses on the everyday people who live in the countries. She speaks of the poetry that is a central part of Somalian culture even when poverty and war have decimated the country, of the hope for peace in South Africa, and the struggle for freedom of the Sahrawhi people in the western Sudan.

Interspersed with the review of countries are overviews of African religion and hairstyles, football, and the book ends with an index and a brief list of websites to explore more about the continent.

Verdict: This reference book is a celebration of an astonishingly diverse continent, focusing on the unique features of the different countries and letting readers see the human faces behind the news stories. Public and school libraries should all have this on their shelf to get kids started on exploring an often overlooked continent and dispel the stereotypes and two-dimensional views of the various countries. Recommended.

ISBN: 9781536205374; Published November 2021 by Candlewick; Borrowed from another library in my consortium