"Traversing 2000 years, this informative illustrated primer to trailblazing African queens is a fact-packed inspiration."
September 2026 Book of the Month
Blazing with the extraordinary feats of its extraordinary subjects as it covers all corners of the African continent across 2000 years, African Queens delivers exactly what Onyinye Iwu promises in her engaging introduction. Namely, it “shines a light on women from all over Africa throughout history who made a huge impact in their communities”.
Dazzlingly illustrated, and lucidly laid-out, it shares the stories of twelve remarkable subjects in all, including Amanirenas, the one-eyed Sudanese warrior queen who fought the Romans, and Sayyida Al-Hurra, the polyglot Moroccan pirate queen. Then there’s Mmanthatisi, the mighty “Wild Cat Queen” of the southern African Basia people, and Amina, the war-waging, sword-wielding queen of Zazzau.
Brimming with brain-boggling facts, and framed in the context of the fact that “women and girls all over the world are often looked down upon and seen as weak or not valuable”, African Queens sees Iwu achieve her hope that this bright, bold book will inspire and encourage girls around the globe to “believe in themselves and let their inner queen shine”. Ideal for fans of the Little People Big Dreams series, African Queens is a great gift for history-loving 7+-year-olds, and also suited for use in the classroom - Onyinye Iwu is a secondary school teacher and illustrator whose work graces Atinuke’s Too Small Tola series.
Twelve powerful African women from throughout history come to life through engaging true stories and bold illustrations.
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the best books for 9-12 year olds · the best books for teenagers
Twelve powerful African women from throughout history come to life through engaging true stories and bold illustrations.All over Africa, women have shaped and ruled glorious civilizations-from Queen Hatshepsut of ancient Egypt, who built great temples and chose trade over war, to Mmanthatisi, the Wild Cat queen of the Basia people, who was small in stature but a clever army commander. Legendary Queen Arawelo of Somalia did everything in her power to make sure that men and women were treated equally in her kingdom, while Sayyida al-Hurra, the wealthy pirate queen, enriched her beloved city of Tétouan in Morocco.
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed African Queens and determined it is suitable for children aged 7-12 years old
African Queens features in the following genres: Featured Books for 7+ readers, Featured Books for 9+ readers, Featured Books for 11+ readers, Books of the Month, Recommendations, Star Books, History, People / Places, Geography, Children’s / Teenage: General interest, Children’s, Teenage and Educational, Educational: Humanities and social sciences, general, Educational material
Hardback. Not Available.
African Queens was written by Onyinye Iwu and published by Candlewick Press
African Queens has 32 pages
