Saba: Under the Hyena's Foot
by Jane Kurtz. Cover illustration by Jean Paul-Tibble. Series: Girls of
Many Lands (2003) Reading Level: Ages 9-12. 207 pages. Pleasant
Company. ISBN: 1-58485-747-1 pbk; 1-58485-829-X hc.
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CABA Award Goes to
Saba: Under the Hyena's Foot
by Jane Kurtz
On May 1, 2004 Saba: Under the Hyena's Foot
was presented with the 2004 Children's African Book Award Honor in the
older reader category. Because of a prior commitment Jane Kurtz
was unable to attend the presentation luncheon.
Emily, a fourth grader from Virginia, attended the luncheon with her
mother, and accepted the award on behalf of the author Jane Kurtz. Here is Emily's
acceptance speech.
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| I am honored
that Ms. Jane Kurtz asked me to accept this award for her. She is a
terrific author. I love reading her books especially Saba. I can read
it over and over again. She is also a very nice person. I met her when
she did a presentation about Saba.
It was AWESOME!! I did a book report
on the book Saba. I learned all about Ethiopia, the clothes that people
wear and even their history. Ms. Kurtz was very helpful and let me
borrow a box of genuine items from when she lived in Ethiopia. The one
thing I remember the most is a saying she told me in Ethiopian,
'Yemiyanebu Yabebuá'which means 'Those who read, Bloom.' Thank
you" -- Emily, a fourth grader from Virginia.
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Excerpts from News Release --
African Studies Association Announces Children's Africana Book Award winners (CABA)
New
Brunswick, N.J. - April 2, 2004 -- The African Studies Association
(ASA) is pleased to announce the winners of the 2004 Children's
Africana Book Awards. The ASA annually honors outstanding authors and
illustrators of the best books about Africa published in the United
States for young children and older readers. The awards will be
presented on May 1st [2004] at the Library of Congress,
Washington, D.C.
2004 Children's Africana Book Award for Best Book for Young Children
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Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen and Aaron Boyd (illus.), Babu's Song
New York: Lee & Low Books, 2003
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| HISTORY OF THE CHILDREN'S AFRICANA BOOK AWARDS |
The Children's Africana Book Awards were established in 1991 by the
African Studies Association to encourage the publication and use of
accurate, balanced
children's materials on Africa. To date, 33 awards have been presented
to
outstanding authors and illustrators. The African Studies Association
is a
non-profit organization founded in 1957 and open to all persons and
institutions
interested in African affairs. The goals of the organization are to
bring together persons with scholarly and professional interest in
Africa, to
provide information and support services to schools, businesses, media,
and
communities at large, to publish and distribute scholarly materials on
Africa,
and to promote the study of Africa.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Brenda Randolph, Director of Africa Access and Chairperson of the Children's
Africana Book Awards Committee. Phone: 301.585-9316. E-mail:
AfricaAccess@aol.com
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2004 CHILDREN'S AFRICANA BOOK AWARD WINNERS
Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen Now living in Hawaii, Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen has based four children's books in Tanzania where she served as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Babu's Song, our 2004 Best Book for Young Children, about a young Tanzanian boy, was preceded by a three book series. Elizabeti's Doll won Stuve-Bodeen the 1999 Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award and has been translated into Spanish. It was followed by Mama Elizabeti, released in 2000, and Elizabeti's School, released in 2002. Her books are published by Lee &Low Books.
Beverley Naidoo A native
of South Africa, now living in the United Kingdom, Beverley Naidoo's
books have been winning international children's book awards for two
decades. Out of Bounds: Seven Stories of Conflict and Hope is Naidoo's
second title to win the African Studies Association's Best Book for
Older Readers Award. She won the same award in 1998 with No Turning
Back. Out of Bounds chronicles fifty years of South African history in
the form of seven dramatic short stories set in successive decades from
1948 to 2000. At least one of the stories has also been turned into a
play, "The Playground" which will open in London in October, 2004. A
previous book, The Other Side of Truth, received the 2002 Jane Addams
Peace Association's book award and the U.K. Library Association's
Carnegie Medal for 2000. It was adapted by the author into a radio play
broadcast in April 2003. Naidoo is represented by Penguin Children's
Books in the U.K. and HarperCollins Children's Books in the U.S.
Aaron Boyd
A full-time illustrator, with a fine arts degree from the Milwaukee
Institute of Art and Design, Aaron Boyd won the Best Book for Young
Children award for his first picture book, Babu's Song. Two more
children's books with his illustrations have subsequently been
released. Boyd has also illustrated numerous stories for children's
magazines and educational publishers.
Niki Daly
Both author and illustrator of children's books since 1978, Niki Daly
lives in Cape Town, South Africa. His works are published in Zulu and
Afrikaans, as well as English. The 2004 Honor Book award for Young
Children, Once Upon a Time is Daly's third Children's Africana Book
Award. What's Cooking Jamela won Best Book for Young Children in 2001,
and Jamela's Dress, was the Honor Book for Young Children in 1999. A
new title in the Jamela series will be launched later in 2004. Daly is
also acclaimed as a singer and songwriter. He is represented by Farrar,
Straus &Giroux in the U.S.
Jane Kurtz -- An American who grew up in Ethiopia, Jane Kurtz has written a number of children's books set in Ethiopia. Saba: Under the Hyena's Foot,
our 2004 Honor Book for Older Readers, has inspired a doll in the
American Girl, LLC, "Girls of Many Lands" series. Kurtz co-authored
with her brother Christopher the 1997 Best Book for Young Children, Only a Pigeon, which was her second book illustrated by CABA award winner E. B. Lewis. Kurtz's latest book, Memories of Sun: Stories of Africa and America
is an anthology of twelve stories and three poems, representing authors
whose lives straddle Africa and the U.S. Kurtz is now based in Kansas
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