Library’ kit (1993) with ten carefully workshopped, full colour picture books, and a
programme of teacher training to support its use.
One hopes that a greater cultural interchange will grow between the English speaking
(or using) countries of Africa. As Professor Eldred Jones, of the University of Sierra
Leone, has so rightly stated ‘In ideal circumstances, the majority of books used at all
stages of education in Africa should be produced in Africa. They would then most
fittingly reflect the environment of the readers and be most relevant to their needs’
(Dillsworth 1988:21).
French-Speaking Africa
Marie LaurentinAfter their independence around the 1960s, twenty African countries kept—from their
colonial past—French as their official language and as their language in education.
Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroun, Central African Republic, Comoros, Congo,
the Ivory Coast, Djibouti, Gabon, Guinea, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Niger,
Rwanda, Senegal, Chad, Togo and Zaïre therefore have a common ground from which a
literature for youth is beginning to emerge, despite the diversity of their culture, of their
history, of the people that are part of them and the multiplicity of their spoken tongues.
It is singular that this literature is developing, with very few exceptions, in a language
which is not normally used by the children.
A UNESCO conference in 1968 on the development of books in Africa marked the first
specific attention given to African children in this field. Despite this move, these
independent countries have seen the development of a literature for adults, while for
children, only heavily Westernised books for learning to read have been available.
Education is in fact the priority for most states; the only books for entertainment originate
in Europe, have no links with the local environment or culture, and are found (and then
rarely) in parish libraries or schools.
Since the last decades of the nineteenth century, religious materials were produced
and distributed, often in great numbers, by the Christian missionaries. They have not
been studied in detail, but the evidence suggests that they had a considerable impact on
the young, and reinforced the ‘sacred’ character of the printed page. Traditional oral
tales were also transcribed and distributed by the missionaries.
The mission school is therefore the best place to approach textbooks for children.
Since the 1930s, some books attempted ‘Africanisation’ by including ‘selected pieces’
from the rich stock of tales. However, the expression of the imagination remained linked
to the oral, while the written page was linked to education, and so written texts kept
their didactic and moralising character. Even the books first written for use outside
schools did not escape this influence.
African conceptions of the child’s personality, psychology, family relationships and
place in society differ profoundly from those of the Western world. Traditionally, children
are taught by their mothers in their early years. In rural areas, they are expected to
contribute to the family income and join in adult social life. In this context, in the rare
cases where the book is present, it represents a form of individual and ‘anonymous’
communication which does not fit easily into a culture where the oral tradition is strong
792 THE WORLD OF CHILDREN’S LITERATURE