As a secondary English and World Cultures teacher, this book is so necessary to teach. When I introduce my African unit to all of my students, I give them ten minutes to write down as many African countries and facts they can think of. The vast majority of my students can only name one or two and know only the Western media's narratives. Even though I have the big kids, they still love when I read to them (of course!).

One of the most powerful ways I use Africa is Not a Country is by pairing it with Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TED Talk, The Danger of a Single Story. Adichie’s discussion on how stereotypes are formed and perpetuated complements the book’s mission to showcase the diversity and complexity of African countries. This combination helps my students understand that Africa is not a monolith but a continent rich with varied cultures, languages, and histories.

I particularly love the spread where the characters are holding up all the country flags. This visual representation is not only engaging but also educational, providing a concrete way for students to see and remember the different nations. This picture book has a lot of text, making it better suited for upper grades. In my middle school classroom, it served as a wonderful discussion starter, encouraging students to ask questions and explore further.

By using Africa is Not a Country, I have seen my students' understanding and appreciation of Africa grow. They become more curious and respectful of the continent’s diversity, challenging their preconceptions and broadening their global awareness. This picture book is an invaluable resource for any educator looking to provide a more nuanced view of Africa.

The title of this book says it all! For all those who thought Africa was a country, and for all those who knew it was not (thankfully I knew this). This book offers so much to learn and discover; you can go anywhere in the continent of Africa and feel good that you know something about it (even if it is just a teensy bit). I loved how the authors used portrayals of everyday lives of children across the different countries in Africa to show the diversity and vastness of this majestic and beautiful continent.

With detailed and vibrant artwork, engaging and informative narrative, as well as maps and other illustrations to guide readers along, this book is a must read for all who love geography, who love to go anywhere and everywhere, or simply love learning!

Disclaimer: I received a digital ARC for this from NetGalley, and these are my honest opinions

This is a topic that we probably need to address for every continent but is especially true for Africa. We have a special cultural blindness for Africa in the West and tend to paint all people in the continent with a single brush. Knight and Melnicove set out to correct this misconception in a simple but clear way. We are introduced to children in a variety of African nations going about their day - doing chores, going to school, interacting with friends and family. We see the parallels in their lives, of course, but also the marked differences in their dress, religion, level of technology, privilege. This is easy enough for even young readers to understand and would make an excellent addition to most any social studies collection.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lerner Publishing Group - Millbrook Press for the DRC of ”Africa is Not a Country" by Mark Melnicove and Margy Burns Knight. This is an unparalleled and outstanding resource to learn about the world - specifically the continent of Africa and its 54 countries. I learned many new things myself, such as the fact that the Western Sahara has been controlled by Morocco since 1979, and is not yet independent. It is sometimes counted as Africa’s 55th country. This book would be great for a research project, as there is a small paragraph at the back of the book that tells major facts about each country. I especially appreciated how each country has a phonetic spelling in parentheses, so that readers can learn how to correctly pronounce names. The introduction really helps readers envision how large the continent of Africa really is, how it is unique even among the seven continents of the world, and by comparing the landscapes of Africa to a pie. This book brings to life the beauty of Africa as well as its many different cultures, by showing its people at home, school, work, and play. This is a very well-written and wonderfully-illustrated treasure of a book. I would highly recommend this book to anyone, but especially to be included in school, daycare/preschool, and community libraries, as well as in as many homes as possible. I will definitely be adding this vibrant and important book to my family’s personal book collection.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lerner Publishing Group - Millbrook Press for the DRC of ”Africa is Not a Country" by Mark Melnicove and Margy Burns Knight. This is an unparalleled and outstanding resource to learn about the world - specifically the continent of Africa and its 54 countries. I learned many new things myself, such as the fact that the Western Sahara has been controlled by Morocco since 1979, and is not yet independent. It is sometimes counted as Africa’s 55th country. This book would be great for a research project, as there is a small paragraph at the back of the book that tells major facts about each country. I especially appreciated how each country has a phonetic spelling in parentheses, so that readers can learn how to correctly pronounce names. The introduction really helps readers envision how large the continent of Africa really is, how it is unique even among the seven continents of the world, and by comparing the landscapes of Africa to a pie. This book brings to life the beauty of Africa as well as its many different cultures, by showing its people at home, school, work, and play. This is a very well-written and wonderfully-illustrated treasure of a book. I would highly recommend this book to anyone, but especially to be included in school, daycare/preschool, and community libraries, as well as in as many homes as possible. I will definitely be adding this vibrant and important book to my family’s personal book collection.

This book was so cute and informative. Even though it was a children's book it is a good book for adults to read to get a quick education on Africa. I thought the writing was well done. I loved all of the illustrations. I liked how each country represented something different and showed how each are different and unique in its own ways. I also enjoyed the diversity throughout the book. I think this book would be great for teachers and to have in school libraries for children to check out.

Well written book covering many different countries in Africa. It highlights the diversity of people and countries. Grew illustrations.

I received an electronic ARC from Lerner Publishing Group through NetGalley.
Melnicove and Knight take readers on a journey through Africa. They begin by explaining how large this continent is and how wide ranging its climate is. Then, they offer information about how many countries make up this continent to start the journey. Readers follow children from a variety of countries as they move through their day. The authors weave informative text into the story, and the illustrations offer further details.
The title captures the point that needs to be made as too often, Africa is lumped as one location.

This lovely children's book achieves its goal of introducing children to the vast diversity of African nations, and it teaches readers that it is inappropriate to lump all 53 of these unique nations together. I found the art to be beautiful and though this was a very superficial survey of life in various countries, it does achieve its goal.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

A somewhat simplistic art style with a brief overview of the many countries and cultures of the African continent.

The glossary at the end provides a few more facts and details.

Overall, this book accomplishes its goal of introducing children to Africa and its people.

I am embarrassed to admit that I didn't know that there are 54 countries in Africa, each with varying cultures and practices until I was college age. As an elementary school teacher, I try to find out the best way to show my students this. This book is a second edition of the book published in 2000. It was a wonderful introduction to the varying countries, practices, and languages in Africa. It is not presented as a country-by-country guide. Rather, it follows children from various cultures from morning to evening time. There are bits of different countries' languages on each page. I would have loved a pronunciation of each word to help educate me, as well as the children. I do also want to point out that it is unclear if the authors are from any of the countries mentioned in the book. There is no author mentioned that seems to have any cultural roots in these countries. I think it's a read-aloud that can be used in the classroom as a teaching point.


This book was provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

#AfricaIsNotaCountry2ndEdition #NetGalley

Wonderful book to introduce children to the diverse and beautiful continent of Africa and all the countries in it. Good for reading to older children who can sit for longer picture books.

This is an very good starting point for teaching children about Africa. I like that it gives you a little inside into how different each life is while not overwhelming you with information. I feel like this can turn into a project each night. You read about each child and the next day you can look up more information. Like I now need to go look up all 21 types of bananas
This book was given to me for free for my honest opinion by NetGalley and the publishing company.

This book is immediately going on my shelf. It's a beautiful text that highlights the diversity of Africa and reminds all of us that Africa is not a monolith. I can't wait to give it to our students -- many of whom don't find themselves represented in books. I also reminds me to call others in when we are talking about the continent -- to push for specificity.

This book is amazing! It is a wonderful way to educate kids about the cultural diversity in Africa! Africa is the most diverse continent in the world, with about 3000 different ethnic groups. This book does a great job of highlighting the different countries within Africa, and I loved how they incorporated words from different languages and included flags from different countries at the beginning and end of the book. I think this is a good book for older elementary school kids.

This books is really incredible. I would say it would be better suited for older kids because there is a lot of text on each page. I would buy this book for my 7-year-old and 9-year-old. I actually just explained to my 7-year-old a few days ago that Africa is a continent. Each page of this book takes you through a typical day in the life of a child in a different country in Africa. The end has a list of every African country and important facts about that country.

This book would be a great addition to the social studies classes of older elementary age children. I would love to see it at my kids’ school. Thank you to Millbrook Press and Netgalley for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.