25.
Conclusion
The preceding review of the topics of American children's books that
in some way deal with the politics of African independence does not do justice to the quality and accuracy of the books. Many of the books include out-ofdate information, factual errors, imprecise maps, and illustrations that do not accurately complement the text. Few of the authors have expertise on Africa or even any particular interest in Africa. The same is true of the editors who revise their work. Neither authors nor editors, with a few
notable exceptions that will be obvious to readers of Africa Today, are familiar with either the scholarly literature or current, indepth political reportage' on Africa. Thus, they have selected popular, biased, and sometimes out-dated sources to use as background for their children's books. The very few books on the politics of African independence that have been written by experts on Africa are for older children of above-average reading ability.
It seems that most writers of children's books have a very limited perception of African independence that is more similar to that portrayed by the mass media than by Africanist scholars. Independence is presented as a onetime event that begins and ends when the colonial control ceases. It is very rarely presented as a process with historical roots and sociocultural and economic ramifications after the independence celebrations are over. Perhaps this accounts for why relatively more children's books dealing with African independence were published in the 1960s than in the 1970s. It is evident that little recent scholarship on the politics of African independence has been utilized in writing children's books. American children will obtain a very limited and extremely biased view of the politics of African independence from reading children's books.
NOTES
1. This article deals only with children's books written in English for
American children. It deals with trade books not text books. The
generalizations are based on all of the American children's books
about African politics that I have read, most of which are briefly
described in Children's Books on Africa and Their Authors: An Annotated Bibliography (New York: Africana, 1975) and Supplement to Children's
Books on Africa and Their Authors (New York: Africana, 1979).
2. The conceptual framework for the Enchantment of Africa series is the
same as for The Enchantment of America and Enchantment of South and
Central America series. For details about the series see my articles
in Bulletin of the Southern Association of Africanists, 3, 1, (1975)
35-42; 4, 3, (1976) 24-31; and 6, 3, (1978) 1-10.
3. A wider range of biographies is available for African children in such
series as African Historical Biographies (Heinemann) and Makers of African History (Longman). More of the political biographies for
African children are written by scholars than are those written for
American or British children.