For world history and geography studies, I like for my kids to read plenty of stories from modern-day Africa. I’ve shared picture books and chapter books about African kingdoms in the past, and I love those stories, but books covering African people and events of the 20th and 21st centuries are also imperative. In addition to learning through books, my family was able to spend some time in Ghana in the fall. Read about our trip and see pictures: Ghana Part 1 and Ghana Part 2.

Most of these titles target teens but are also great choices for adults wanting to learn more, and the last one is a compelling option for upper elementary and middle school. For lower elementary students, I highly recommend my Amazing Africa! Heritage Pack.

Disclosure: As a BlackHistory365 affiliate and Amazon Associate, I may earn commissions from qualifying purchases of these stories from modern-day Africa using these links, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.

Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood (Adapted for Young Readers) by Trevor Noah – Trevor Noah, former host of The Daily Show on Comedy Central, shares his remarkable story of growing up in South Africa with a black South African mother and a white European father at a time when it was against the law for a mixed-race child to exist. But he did exist–and from the beginning, the often-misbehaved Trevor used his keen smarts and humor to navigate a harsh life under a racist government.

Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography: The True Story of a Black Youth’s Coming of Age in Apartheid South Africa –This extraordinary memoir of life under apartheid is a triumph of the human spirit over hatred and unspeakable degradation. For Mark Mathabane did what no physically and psychologically battered “Kaffir” from the rat-infested alleys of Alexandra was supposed to do — he escaped to tell about it.

They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky: The True Story of Three Lost Boys from Sudan – Between 1987 and 1989, Alepho, Benjamin, and Benson, like tens of thousands of young boys, took flight from the massacres of Sudan’s civil war. They became known as the Lost Boys. With little more than the clothes on their backs, sometimes not even that, they streamed out over Sudan in search of refuge. Their journey led them first to Ethiopia and then, driven back into Sudan, toward Kenya. They walked nearly one thousand miles, sustained only by the sheer will to live.

The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After by Clemantine Wamariya – Clemantine was six years old when her mother and father began to speak in whispers, when neighbors began to disappear, and when she heard the loud, ugly sounds her brother said were thunder. In 1994, she and her fifteen-year-old sister, Claire, fled the Rwandan massacre and spent the next six years migrating through seven African countries, searching for safety—perpetually hungry, imprisoned and abused, enduring and escaping refugee camps, finding unexpected kindness, witnessing inhuman cruelty. When Clemantine was twelve, she and her sister were granted refugee status in the United States; there, in Chicago, their lives diverged.

Watch this short clip from an episode of Oprah where the young ladies were reunited with their parents for the first time (Grab a tissue!):

I don’t think I’ve ever shared a textbook on my site, but I’m making an exception for this book. I haven’t found another title that so vividly explores modern Africa. It’s a rare find. This book has QR codes throughout that feature virtual field trips, stories, articles, music, photos, and interesting videos on all sorts of topics. The price tag is hefty when compared to what we pay for most homeschool books, but with all of the curated links, this is really more of a multimedia course than just a solo book. I really can’t say enough good things about it!

Feel free to ask questions or leave your thoughts and ideas about these stories from modern day Africa in the comments. You can find me on Instagram @heritagemomblog. I hope to see you there!