FAVL board member Deb Garvey points us to some wonderful children's books about Africa from the publisher L'ecole des loisirs including this one, Les petits acrobates du fleuve, (The Little River Acrobats), illustrated and written by Dominique Mwankumi, L'ecole des loisirs, 2000. Deb has translated and expanded the publisher's blurb below:This charming African-village themed book for children ages 7 to 9 is a great introduction to village life in west-central Africa. The story is set in the remote village of Sakata, Democratic Republic of Congo, along the Congo River. The great river churns dangerously whenever a mailboat packed with merchandise arrives at Sakata's tiny one-wharf port. Despite the dangers, the mailboats are tempting targets for the children of the village. Children (aka "little acrobats") scramble into their fragile small pirogues and row out into the turbulent water in order to touch the hull of the mysterious boat. One day, a little boy named Kembo decides it is his turn to have a go at the mailboat. He is even determined to board the mailboat once he reaches it. However, reaching the larger boat requires skill in handling the pirogue in the dangerously choppy waters and a great deal of courage, neither of which Kembo lacks. Accompanied by his friends, Kembo will attempt this very dangerous act of acrobacy....will he succeed?
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