(2) YA This multigenerational tale of a family seeking freedom begins by introducing Kollie, a Liberian American teen in 2008 Minnesota. Readers are transported to 1926 Liberia to an earlier generation of Kollie's family; then to 1827 Virginia; forward to 1980 Monrovia; and finally to 2018, where Kollie's sister, Angel, ties together the various threads of this sprawling tale. Gibney tackles the complexity of Liberia's history and illuminates how humans end up treating each other cruelly. Reading list, timeline.

Reviewer: Christina L. Dobbs | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2018

(3) 4-6 Real Sports Content Network Presents series. These fast-paced, engrossing biographies each introduce its subject's gritty and spirited journey to professional sports: football linebacker Hali, whose family escaped war-torn Liberia; and women's soccer center back Sauerbrunn, who uses her smarts and agility to compete successfully against physically stronger players. Seigerman seamlessly weaves quotes and facts from interviews he conducted with each star (plus family and friends) into the action-filled narratives. Review covers these Real Sports Content Network Presents titles: Becky Sauerbrunn and Tamba Hali.

Reviewer: Jack Forman

(4) 4-6 Linus, not yet thirteen, moves to Liberia with his family in the summer of 1982. Companionship with a deadly black mamba snake, with which he can seemingly communicate, helps Linus shed his scaredy-cat image. Predictably, his attachment to the snake results in a near tragedy. Though the multitude of eighties references grow tiring and Linus is rather two-dimensional, his emotions are relatable.

Reviewer: Brittany Schlorff

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Julie Paschkis. In this Anansi story (which previously appeared in the retellers' Why Leopard Has Spots), Spider refuses to help his neighbors with the work on their communal farm. Later, when he tries to help himself to the ripened crops, the vegetables won't allow it: "You didn't help make the farm. Go away!" This retelling ends anticlimactically, but Paschkis's folk-art-like gouache illustrations are dynamic.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(4) K-3 Welcome to My Country series. This book introduces readers to Africa's oldest republic, founded by African Americans in 1847. Briefly addressed topics include geography, history, economy, people, food, holidays, and leisure activities. Though not examined in detail, a sense of how civil wars have impeded the country's use of its rich resources comes through. Good-quality photos with clear captions enhance the text. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Julie Paschkis. Storytellers will find plenty to work with in this lighthearted folktale from the Dan people of Liberia. Quick-thinking Mrs. Chicken convinces Crocodile that the two are sisters, and therefore Crocodile can't possibly eat her. The well-paced narrative follows a familiar folkloric arc (smaller, cleverer animal outsmarts stronger, pointy-toothed predator). The gouache paintings extend the story's humor and give the characters personality.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2003

(4) 4-6 Countries of the World series. Moving quickly through an overview section, these books then feature closer looks at selected topics, such as the American Colonization Society in Liberia, the women of Uganda and their struggle for equality, and the Berber and Tuareg peoples of Libya. While the captions sometimes interrupt the flow of the competent text, the photos are often striking. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Countries of the World titles: Uganda, Liberia, and Libya.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Julie Paschkis. With no arms or legs, Head can eat only things on the ground. While dreaming of out-of-reach cherries, he meets up with two Arms who can't see. Other body parts come along, and after they sort themselves out, the newly whole person stands up and picks mangoes. This simple fable about working together is told in a straightforward text; humor is inherent in the situation. Enticing illustrations in ripe fruit colors enhance the strange, silly tale.

Reviewer: Lauren Adams | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2002

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Joe Cepeda. When Koi inherits nothing but a kola tree, he makes friends by giving the nuts to animals in need. They repay him when he must answer three challenges to win the hand of Chief Fulikolli's daughter. Sound effects (the crocodile lashed his tale "belong-belang, belong-belang") give the text a rich oral-tradition ring, and Cepeda's colorfully bright oil paintings offer a strong sense of place in this story previously published in Tales from the Story Hat. Glos.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Ashley Bryan. Featuring strong repetition, lively dialogue, and morals pithily wrought, these six Liberian animal tales will be a boon for story hour. Audiences will enjoy the humor (try "Why Spider Has a Big Butt"), and storytellers will appreciate the good notes and illuminating glossary. Bib.

Reviewer: Roger Sutton

(2) 4-6 Set in Liberia, this story tells of twelve-year-old Sarina, a transplanted American girl struggling to break free of the physical and psychic bonds binding her to her diabetic mother. Told in a lyrical and measured first-person voice, the novel does a fine job of depicting its major characters and meaningfully explores questions concerning human relationships, both forced and freely formed.

Reviewer: Nancy Vasilakis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 1998