This book should be a mandatory read for any student of history
Baptiste focuses on ten Africans who made significant contributions to history that may have gone unnoticed - Aesop, Hannibal, Imhotep, Menses, Mansa Musa and Terrance the playwright to name a few.

BOOK: AFRICAN ICONS
AUTHOR: TRACEY BAPTISTE
PUB DATE: 02 JANUARY 2023
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REVIEW
Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for this ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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This was a history book I didn't know I needed. At first, I was skeptical to request it because it was in the Children's genre, but I'm so, so glad I did.
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I loved the myriad selection of icons from all over Africa regardless of sexes. I loved that the author didn't shy away from the bloody parts and stayed true to history. Most of all, I enjoyed learning about these Africans and the wonderful things they accomplished. If I hadn't read this book, I never would have know of the greatness of Africa. My favorite icon were Mansa Musa of Mali, I liked most part of his leadership and Iyoba(Queen) Idia of Benin. The illustrations were beautifully done too although they were not enough for me
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While I liked and enjoyed this book, I felt this book was more for adults than kids. 1. The illustrations though beautiful, were not enough. I expected some scenes to be drawn, but they were not, some kids might lose interest in the book.
2. There was some scenes that did happen, but might be too graphic for young kids.
However, if the kids are too young, I feel like parents can read to them and eliminate some graphic scenes. This book is a perfect one to listen to
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This book was very good and you should definitely read it
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thank you to netgalley and Algonquin Young Readers for allowing me to read this book. This was so educational and informative.

This wonderfully engaging and educational book is meant for children, but I couldn’t put it down. It lists ten Africans of note—from playwrights to generals, queens and kings—who changed history. Of course, this is far from a comprehensive list, and it skews quite heavily north-east African, but what is there is entertaining and well-written. It’s also important to note the book depends on existing written (and Western) sources, although Baptiste is clear throughout on how flawed and incomplete our knowledge of historical Africa is.

Not only is the writing engaging—the material is visually beautiful, with accompanying illustrations and graphics by Hillary D. Wilson, without which the book would be entirely different. African Icons is a wonderful project, highly recommended for all, and particularly for family libraries.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Algonquin Young Readers for access.

The oldest continent is also the one with a rife history of colonization and enslavement. Much of this book is about Egypt, a region that has seen much migration and change in leadership. While the pharaohs interest me, I wanted to learn more about Nigeria, Benin, and West Africa in general. East Africa isn't really touched on here, and my knowledge stems from a previous job in the luxury safari sector.