Ashanti to Zulu: African Traditions

For preschoolers learning about other people groups and the alphabet, Ashanti to Zulu: African Traditions by Margaret Musgrove is the perfect picture book marrying the two.

Musgrove works her way through the alphabet, telling a bit about a different African tribe for each letter.  The tribal illustrations by Leo and Diane Dillon are as interesting as they are accurate.  And while the style and colors unify the pages, the details of how the tribes live and celebrate their traditions are quite different.

As I read through this book, I wondered in which part of Africa each tribe lives.  Musgrove and the Dillons anticipated this question and included a map of Africa with the tribes’ locations in the back of the book.

Highly recommended for ages 3 – 8.