African Magic

Jacqueline Woodson's first middle-grade novel since National Book Award winner Brown Girl Dreaming celebrates the healing that can occur when a group of students share their stories. It all starts when six kids have to meet for a weekly chat—by themselves, with no adults to listen in. There, in the room they soon dub the ARTT Room (short for "A Room to Talk"), they discover it's safe to talk about what's bothering them—everything from Esteban's father's deportation and Haley's father's incarceration to Amari's fears of racial profiling and Ashton's adjustment to his changing family fortunes.

Folk magic is not just limited to Wiccan magic rituals or Celtic traditions. There’s a whole lot more to folk magic, which is practiced worldwide in different ways. Despite the multitude of resources for learning about these cultures, you’d rarely find a consolidated source of information about all of the folk magic cultures in one place. Besides, if you’re unsure about which culture they identify with, this audiobook will be the ideal guide to your magic discovery journey.

Santeria, a religion whose origins can be traced back to the Yoruban tribes of West Africa. Brought into the United States and Latin American countries through the slave trade, it is now practiced in Cuba and the Latin American countries and has over 20,000 followers in the United States.

The nefarious lion-tamer Maccomo, recently escaped from captivity, kidnaps Charlie with the intention of selling him and Rafi to the Corporacy! A full-scale chase ensues as Charlie's parents, his Venetian gondolier friend, and his ever-faithful lions pursue Maccomo's ship across the sea.

Set in Nigeria in the late 1960s, The Road to the Country is the epic story of a shy, bookish student haunted by long-held guilt who must go to war to free himself. When his younger brother disappears as the country explodes in civil war, Kunle must set out on an impossible rescue mission. Kunle’s search for his brother becomes a journey of atonement that will see him conscripted into the breakaway Biafran army and forced to fight a war he hardly understands, all while navigating the prophecies of a local Seer, he who marks Kunle as an abami eda—one who will die and return to life.

Just as Martine is settling into life on the wildlife game reserve, she is whisked away on a school trip. Her class is going on an ocean voyage to witness the Sardine Run, a spectacular natural phenomenon, off the coast of South Africa. What begins as an exciting adventure quickly turns perilous when a storm blows up and Martine and her classmates are thrown overboard into shark-infested waters. They are saved by a pod of dolphins, only to end up marooned on a deserted island.

Solstice Winters never expected her job as a photojournalist would involve stopping a death god. She’s only ever wanted the same things as anyone else—a nice career, a safe place to call home, and no magical assassins trying to kill her. Alas, there’s nothing like an unexpected dimensional misalignment to ruin plans. The rapid flood of magic into the world changed her from simple reporter to secret agent in mere months. It also revealed the truth of her being an elf. Her investigation into who wants her dead stalls when a paranormal entity shows up in her apartment pleading for help. ...

Everyone’s favorite fifteen-year-old ghostalker, Ropa, arrives at the worldwide Society of Skeptical Enquirers’ biennial conference just in time to be tied into a mystery—a locked room mystery, if an entire creepy haunted castle on lockdown counts. One of the magical attendees has stolen a valuable magical scroll. Caught between Qozmos, the high wizard of Ethiopian magic; the larger-than-life Lord Sashvindu Samarasinghe; England’s Sorcerer Royal; and Scotland’s own Edmund MacLeod, it’s up to Ropa to sort through the dangerous secret politics and alliances to figure out what really happened.

When the windshield of his Chevy Impala shatters in a dark diner parking lot in Alabama, Melvin moves without thinking. A split-second reaction marrows in his bones from the days of war, but this time it is the safety of his fiancé, Bernadette, at stake. Impulse keeps them alive, and yet they flee with blood on their hands. What is life like now that they are fugitives? Pack passports. Empty bank accounts. Set their old life on fire. The couple disguise themselves as a pastor and a reluctant pastor’s wife who’s hiding a secret from her fiancé.

On the day of the Harvest Festival, the old woman who lives in the forest appears in Abeni's village with a terrible message: You ignored my warnings. It’s too late to run. They are coming. Warriors with burning blades storm the village. A man with a cursed flute plays an impossibly alluring song. And everyone Abeni has ever known and loved is captured and marched toward far-off ghost ships set for even more distant lands. But not Abeni. Abeni is magically whisked away by the old woman.

From Vanessa Brantley-Newton, the author of Grandma's Purse, comes a collection of poetry filled with engaging mini-stories about girls of all kinds: girls who feel happy, sad, scared, powerful; girls who love their bodies and girls who don't; country girls, city girls; girls who love their mother and girls who wish they had a father. This book invites listeners to find themselves and each other within.

Nathaniel is a well-intentioned, if naive, British cleric feeling blessed to educate a West African village about the benevolent power of God. But as slavers encroach, Nathaniel’s endeavor is daunted by the realities unfolding on the beautiful homeland of his congregation. It seems the Devil has power too. What follows for Nathaniel is a profound spiritual upheaval as he questions his purpose and even his humanity.

In the heart of Gary, Indiana, three adventurous siblings named Leah, Nasir, and Kingston roamed the bustling streets every summer day. Leah, a curious and resourceful girl with a passion for books, led the way. Nasir, her older brother, was a tech-savvy boy with a love for puzzles, while Kingston, the youngest of the trio, was a fearless and imaginative boy who dreamed of becoming a superhero, yet wise enough to know that being a hero doesn’t require powers but selflessness and bravery. After their parents banned electronics for a week. One sunny afternoon, as they explored a seldom-...

For most kids, catching fireflies is a fun summer activity. For twelve-year-old Serwa Boateng, it's a matter of life and death. That's because Serwa knows that some fireflies are really adze, shapeshifting vampires from the forests of Southeastern Ghana. Adze prey on the blood of innocents, possessing their minds and turning them into hulking monsters, and for generations, slayers like Serwa and her parents have protected an unknowing public from their threats.

The Clever Black Detective Club Book 2 Enchanted Forest Adventures: A Collection of Mystery Detective Short Stories for Kids Ages 8-12The Clever Black Detective Club transports to an enchanted forest filled with mysterious and magical creatures. In this second book of enchanting mystery short stories, kids ages 8-12 will follow the club as they solve 8 cases to find their way home. From deciphering ancient symbols, uncovering missing treasures, and stopping a phantom threat, this book will have kids on the edge of their seats as they follow the club’s journey. FEATURES Follow the ...

Deadly ingredients, earth-shattering recipes, and poisoned relationships abound in this tantalizing third installment of the Hex Kitchen series. The culinary magic world is at war with itself. A murderer with a vendetta has taken control of the all-powerful Gourmands. The first step in his recipe for domination: kill all his rivals...beginning with Braxton and Kenzie. New enemies are emerging from all sides, and the future of magic is at stake. Everything hinges on Braxton’s sister and her lover-turned-enemy. The problem is that Sofia is in jail, and Graham is being hunted by the police. ...

Gone Like Yesterday follows two Black women—Zahra, a listless college prep coach, and Sammie, a teenage girl and budding activist soon off to college—who are drawn to each other through the songs of gypsy moths. Gypsy moths have been singing the songs of Zahra’s ancestors to her for years, so when Zahra realizes that Sammie might be a moth person too, their paths become intertwined. Then, the unthinkable happens: Zahra’s brother, Derrick, goes missing.

How far will a mother go to turn Christmas joy into back-to-school readiness? And what happens when her solution risks taking away the very thing that makes her child feel special? Kemunto is no stranger to tough decisions. As a hardworking mother in a rural African village, she’s mastered the art of stretching every coin just to get by. But when her son Mogaka’s beloved gray Christmas shoes—his pride, his confidence, his magic—don’t meet the school’s strict uniform rules, Kemunto is faced with a new kind of dilemma. To Mogaka, those shoes help him run faster, dream bigger, and ...

Twelve-year-old Maya is the only one in her South Side Chicago neighborhood who witnesses weird occurrences like were-hyenas stalking the streets at night and a scary man made of shadows plaguing her dreams. Her friends try to find an explanation - perhaps a ghost uprising or a lunchroom experiment gone awry. But to Maya, it sounds like something from one of Papa’s stories or her favorite comics.

All 13-year-old Izzy wants to do is get through this family camping trips as soon as possible, so she can get back to hanging out with her friends. But when she and a group of campers get lost in Glacier National Park, Izzy’s only thought is if they can make it out alive before the snow sets in. Deep in the forest, Izzy and her new friends are thrown into a world of magic, witches, wolves and shape shifters as they struggle against the forces of nature and magic.