African: A Children's Picture Book

by Peter Tosh, Rachel Moss (Illustrator)

A beautiful children’s picture book featuring the lyrics of Peter Tosh’s global classic celebrating children of African descent.

African is the latest from LyricPop, a children’s picture book collection by LyricVerse and Akashic Books.

"So don’t care where you come from
As long as you’re a black man, you’re an African
No mind your nationality
You have got the identity of an African . . ."

African is a children’s book featuring lyrics by Peter Tosh and illustrations by Jamaican artist Rachel Moss. The song “African” by Peter Tosh was originally released in 1977 on his second solo record, Equal Rights. He wrote the song during a time of civil unrest in Jamaica as a reminder to all black people that they were part of the same community. The album is considered one of the most influential reggae works of all time.

• A key song from the classic 1970s era of reggae
• Peter Tosh was one of the founding members of the iconic reggae group the Wailers

Genres: Picture Books, Music, Childrens, Cultural, Africa

32 pages, Hardcover

Published June 2, 2020

Reviews

[Shaye Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was one of four books I won in a giveaway. Each of the four books takes the lyrics of a well-known song and creates illustrations to go with them. Parents and children who know these songs might enjoy reading the lyrics and seeing what the artist visualized for a children's book. For more children's literature, middle grade literature, and YA literature reviews, feel free to visit my personal blog at The Miller Memo!

[J Earl · Rating 5 out of 5]

African: A Children's Picture Book is part of the LyricPop series from Akashic Books. This volume combines the lyrics of the classic Peter Tosh song and drawings from Rachel Moss. I came to this series unsure how I might respond, the songs/books I have read are from my youth and trying to imagine them as picture books was difficult. Much of each review of these books will be the same with the exception of the part specific to the book. So...

I was very pleasantly surprised. The story here, such as it is, is about knowing who you are and all that we all have in common. This was written during a turbulent time as a reminder that everyone was part of the same community. That message is as vital today as it was then. The age range for the series is stated as 0-7 so we are talking about a book that is going to be interactive between a child, a reader (usually imagined as a parent), and the book. As such, I think this will be a fun experience for everyone. The story is uplifting and positive and offers many opportunities for the reader to explain ideas ranging from our many commonalities to the superficiality of the ways we divide ourselves (nationality, denomination, skin tone). This book also lends itself at the higher end of the age range to beginning to grasp world geography and cultures.

It has been a long time since my children were this age so I am imaging how I might have used it. I remember "dancing" around my living room with my daughter listening to music when she was barely able to walk, so this is the child I am picturing in my mind. I think I might read the book a time or two first before introducing her to the song, let her get the words into her mind but using a singsong voice while reading it, to the tune of the song. Then play the song for her so that she can hear the song in her mind while we read the book. I'm not sure there is a right or wrong way to use the book but I think this is how I would do so.

I would recommend this book to any parents (or in my case grandparents) who want to make story time something more than just reading a story straight through, especially stories created with additional marketing in mind. This is simple, uses the imagination, and develops an appreciation of music (rather than appreciation of ever more toys).

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via Edelweiss.

[Reading Canuck · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is based on the song “African” by Peter Tosh. It showcases how all Black people, no matter their location, are all members of the same community.

💡Lesson Idea:
Using an overhead projector, show this book to students while playing the song in the background and flipping the pages accordingly. Then, on a world map, locate where students’ families originated from. Use a thread to pin each students’ family ancestral origins to the current country you reside in (example: if you’re teaching in Canada and some students have India origins, use the thread/pin to connect India to Canada.) Once everyone has had a turn, there should be a few threads pointing to one country. Have a conversation about how people can come from all over the world and be a part of one community.

For more picture book lesson ideas, check out @readingcanuck on Instagram.

[Aolund · Rating 4 out of 5]

A vibrant and expressive illustrated edition of Peter Tosh's song "African" that would make a great accompaniment to listening to and discussing this important reggae song and what it has to say about the African diasporic community.

Themes: Community, Music, Black is Beautiful, Around the World
Age range: 3-8

[Keriann's Picture Book Library · Rating 3 out of 5]

A touch dated given the song was released in 1977 but the sentiment is a good one.

[Brooke]

This book is about a song that was written to remind afican people that they are the same as americans and can do the same as Americans.

[Opetoritse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moss's beautiful illustrations breathe new life into Tosh's classic Pan-Africanist anthem.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars for this title celebrating those of African descent

[Andréa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.