The African Studies Association recently announced the winner of their 2011 Children’s Africana Book Awards (CABA).

The awards are given to outstanding K-12 books on Africa published in the United States. The awards are designed to encourage the publication of accurate, balanced children’s materials on Africa, to recognize literary excellence, and to acknowledge the research achievements of outstanding authors and illustrators. 

The Best Book for 2011 is Seeds of Change: Planting a Path to Peace by Jen Johnson with glorious illustration by Sonia Lynn Sadler. It was also named to the IRA’s Notable Books for a Global Society list.   Both the author and illustrator will attend the African Studies Association meeting in Washington on November 18 where they will join in the celebration of the 20th anniversary of Children’s Africana Book Awards at the National Museum of African Art downtown on the Mall. Johnson and Sadler will also participate in the Teachers Workshop at the ASA meeting hotel on November 19 and present Seeds of Change with a middle school environmental studies lesson plan at the Young Readers Center at the Library of Congress. 

The 2011 Honor Book, S is for South Africa by renowned South African author, Beverly Naidoo and photographer Prodeepta Das, also fills an important niche in outreach programs for elementary schools.   It documents the tremendous amount of positive change that has taken place in South Africa since the end of Apartheid. With remarkable economy, its pithy text accompanied by remarkable photographs of school children and market women convey an enormous amount of information about South African society and economy today.  Naidoo, a multiple CABA honoree, will send a video message to the CABA ceremony which, like her video for the 2010 award, will be posted at the African Access website.