• The Ghost of Ratemo (Junior African Writers Series Level 2)

    Level 2 is suited to learners who have been studying English for 4-5 years. Short sentences and a large number of illustrations combine to make these books both enjoyable and easy to read, either individually or in class. Learners have a wide variety of stories to choose from.

    Ratemo and his father set out to deliver a coffin to the next village. Ratemo, feeling tired, decides to sleep in the coffin. When he wakes up, his father has disappeared. And Ratemo is surrounded by strange men.

  • Bookset: Pacesetters Series (50 titles)

    Relive all the literary jobs of years gone by, by procuring this jumbo set of the famous, now-scarce, Pacesetters Series.

    The Pacesetters Series were a collection of 130 novels written by African authors (mostly Nigerian, but there were also Ghanian, Kenyan and South African writers) for an African audience. It was 1977 when Macmillan decided to publish this low-cost paperback series – with publication mainly happening between 1979 and 1988.

    They were very popular in the 1980s until the series disappeared in the 1990s. The covers were lovely and unique; a bit garish, and so 1980s with their African pop art, but there’s just something about them and how the colourful images portray what the novel is probably about. They are a testament to their time. 

    Exact titles will depend on availability.

  • Truth is a Flightless Bird

    Obama comes to Kenya!

    The American president’s historic visit to Nairobi is the electric backdrop to the story of a pastor, who plunges into the slums to rescue the woman he loves from the clutches of a Somali drug lord.

    But how deep can the pastor go, without destroying his faith, and himself?

    Truth is a Flightless Bird is a brutal love letter to the frontier town that is present-day Nairobi: a studied observation of the the failure of bare-knuckled capitalism, the inequality machines our cities have become, and – ultimately – the profoundly irrational human capacity to hope, to risk everything in order to have something in which to believe.

    With Truth is a Flightless Bird, Hussain establishes a remarkable voice, one truly his own.

  • Renewable Energy: Conservation (Kawi Renewable Energy #3)

    The Kawi popular science series on Renewable Energy is a unique collection of children’s books which educates the reader on the various forms of energy. The books present scientific explanation of how natural elements can be exploited in order to increase energy supply in Africa. The series comprises of six books and focuses on solar energy, hydropower, wind, biogas and wood fuel.

    Authors from different regions in Africa were commissioned to develop an interesting set of books, which expose the vastness and abundance of Africa’s natural resources. They provide ample African cultural and traditional examples which have sustained the continent’s energy needs and application for years. A wide range of activities, exercises drawn from African experiences have been used to make the series lively and relevant to young African readers.

    Book 3 is a very enriching book, which presents various ways of conserving energy. It gives numerous suggestions of how to save energy through the correct choice of appliances. Interesting exercises have been developed to reinforce to children that the proper use of natural resources contributes to energy conservation. Examples and experiences include traditional and cultural practices from across Africa made exciting through vivid illustrations and photographs.

    The author, Alfonso Dominic Nyorch, is currently a senior education officer with the City of Nairobi, Kenya.

    Titles in the Kawi Renewable Energy series include:

    • Book 1 Renewable Energy – Sources
    • Book 2 Renewable Energy – Uses
    • Book 3 Renewable Energy – Conservation
    • Book 4 Renewable Energy – Conversion
    • Book 5 Renewable Energy – Storage
    • Book 6 Renewable Energy – Challenges for Africa

    The Kawi series is the product of a project implemented jointly by UNESCO and the African Publishers’ Network with support from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and the Canadian International Development Agency.

  • Safe House: Explorations in Creative Nonfiction

    In a collection of creative essays that ranges from travel writing and memoir to reportage, Ellah Wakatama Allfrey brings together some of the most talented writers of creative nonfiction from across Africa.

    A Ghanaian explores the increasing influence of China across the region; a Kenyan student activist writes of exile in Kampala; a Liberian scientist shares her diary of the Ebola crisis; a Nigerian writer travels to the north to meet a community at risk; a Kenyan travels to Senegal to interview a gay rights activist and a South African writer recounts a tale of family discord and murder in a remote seaside town.

    This anthology contains a range of unforgettable stories by authors from across Africa and presents personal views of contemporary issues in an accessible and thought-provoking manner.

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