The winners of the 2025 Children’s Africana Book Awards have been announced!

The Children’s Africana Book Awards (CABA) are presented annually to the authors and illustrators of the best children’s and young adult books on Africa published or republished in the U.S. Africa Access and the Outreach Council of the African Studies Association (ASA) created CABA in 1991 to encourage the publication and use of accurate, balanced children’s materials about Africa. The Center for African Studies at Howard University is the institutional base for the Awards.

Check out the full list of winners and honorable mentions!

Best Chapter Books

The Maid and the Crocodile by Jordan Ifueko, Amulet Books, 2024

With Love, Miss Americanah by Jane Igharo, Feiwel and Friends, 2024

Kwame Crashes the Underworld by Craig Kofi Farmer, Roaring Brook Press, 2024

My Life as a Chameleon by Diana Anyakwo, IgKids, 2024

Honor Chapter Books

The Kingdom of Dust by Lisa Stringfellow, Quill Tree Books/ HarperCollins, 2024

The Smoke that Thunders by Erhu Kome, Accord Books/Norton Young Readers, 2024

Best Picture Books

The Heart Never Forgets by Ana Otaru and Hayden Goodman (Illustrator), Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2024

The Gabi That Girma Wore by Fasika Adefris and Sara Holly Ackerman. Netsanet Tesfay (illustrator), Little Brown/ Hachette, 2024

Zamzam by Karen Leggett Abouraya and Susan Roth (illustrator), Reycraft Books, 2024

I’ll See You in Ijebu by Bunmi Emenanjo and Diana Ejaita (illustrator), Barefoot Books, 2024

Honor Picture Book

What Happened on Thursday. A Nigerian Civil War Story by Ayo Oyeku and Lydia Mba (illustrator), Amazon Crossing Kids, 2024