Little learners will read essential first words in Shona and Ndebele, the two main native languages of Zimbabwe. Colorful illustrations are paired with simple first words for readers of all ages to learn.

Like Fela Kuti and Bob Marley, singer, composer, and bandleader Thomas Mapfumo and his music came to represent his native country's anticolonial struggle and cultural identity. Mapfumo was born in 1945 in what was then the British colony of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). The trajectory of his career—from early performances of rock 'n' roll tunes to later creating a new genre based on traditional Zimbabwean music, including the sacred mbira, and African and Western pop—is a metaphor for Zimbabwe's evolution from colony to independent nation. Lion Songs is an authoritative biography of Mapfumo that narrates the life and career of this creative, complex, and iconic figure. Banning Eyre ties the arc of Mapfumo's career to the history of Zimbabwe. The genre Mapfumo created in the 1970s called chimurenga, or "struggle" music, challenged the Rhodesian government—which banned his music and jailed him—and became important to Zimbabwe achieving independence in 1980. In the 1980s and 1990s Mapfumo's international profile grew along with his opposition to Robert Mugabe's dictatorship. Mugabe had been a hero of the revolution, but Mapfumo’s criticism of his regime led authorities and loyalists to turn on the singer with threats and intimidation. Beginning in 2000, Mapfumo and key band and family members left Zimbabwe. Many of them, including Mapfumo, now reside in Eugene, Oregon. A labor of love, Lion Songs is the product of a twenty-five-year friendship and professional relationship between Eyre and Mapfumo that demonstrates Mapfumo's musical and political importance to his nation, its freedom struggle, and its culture.

Zimbabwe's Cultural Heritage won first prize in the Zimbabwe Book Publishers Association Awards in 2006 for Non-fiction: Humanities and Social Sciences. It is a collection of pieces of the culture of the Ndebele, Shona, Tonga, Kalanga, Nambiya, Xhosa and Venda. The book gives the reader an insight into the world view of different peoples, through descriptions of their history and life events such as pregnancy, marriage and death. "...the most enduring book ever on Zimbabwean history. This book will help people change their attitude towards each other in Zimbabwe." - Zimbabwe Book Publishers Association Awards citation

From Los Angeles Times Book Prize Award winner and Edgar Award nominee Malla Nunn comes a stunning portrait of a family divided and a powerful story of how friendship saves and heals. When Amandla wakes up on her fifteenth birthday, she knows it's going to be one of her mother's difficult days. Her mother has had another vision. This one involves Amandla wearing a bedsheet loosely stitched as a dress. An outfit, her mother says, is certain to bring Amandla's father back home, as if he were the prince and this was the fairytale ending their family was destined for. But in truth, Amandla's father has long been gone--since before Amandla was born--and even her mother's memory of him is hazy. In fact, many of her mother's memories from before Amandla was born are hazy. It's just one of the many reasons people in Sugar Town give them strange looks--that and the fact her mother is white and Amandla is Black. When Amandla finds a mysterious address in the bottom of her mother's handbag along with a large amount of cash, she decides it's finally time to get answers about her mother's life. What she discovers will change the shape and size of her family forever. But with her best friends at her side, Amandla is ready to take on family secrets and the devil himself. These Sugar Town queens are ready to take over the world to expose the hard truths of their lives.

★Product Description★ Anashe and Takudzwa are siblings, originally from Zimbabwe and living in South Africa. They both speak English and want to learn all the African languages as they want to travel the continent one day and make friends. In this book, they are learning Shona, which is a language that is spoken in Zimbabwe. They need to learn to communicate using simple, everyday words. Parents and caregivers can read along with Anashe and Takudzwa as they learn basic Shona words. The book includes themes such as: "My body", "Animals", "Counting to ten", "Food", "Days of the week", "Objects you find outside", "Objects you find inside the house", "Months of the year" and "Seasons". Family is a very important aspect of the African culture and this book also covers how to address each member of the extended family from a child's perspective. This is a colourful and informative must-have first words book for any family that wants their little ones to get excited about learning African languages! For assistance with pronunciation, please visit: www.myfirstwords.thinkific.com ★More My First Words books★ This bilibgual picture and word book is also avalilable on AMAZON in the following languages: isiNdebele (Zimbabwe); Sesotho (South Africa); sePedi (South Africa); seTswana (South Africa); tshiVenda (South Africa); xiTsonga (South Africa); isiZulu (South Africa); isiXhosa (South Africa); Afrikaans (South Africa); kiSwahili (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan) ★Let's go series★ The Let's Go: Handeyi series is an eight part bilingual first experience book series that was created to progress to learning sentence constructions in the various languages. The Shona version is currently available on Amazon. ★About the Author★ Wadzanai Mabuto is a wife, mother and is often referred to as the "Not So Typical Chartered Accountant" as she spends much of her time innovating and creating new things. She grew up in Zimbabwe and moved to South Africa to pursue her tertiary education at the age of 18. Together with her husband, Tonderai, they have embarked an exciting journey of raising their three children: Anashe, Takudzwa and Tinaye. Wadzanai wrote and illustrated this book to help engage kids and parents alike with Shona. Visit www.thegifted.co.za for more information

John Hammond was one of Rhodesia ’s foremost educators of the black population and this book throws light on the current plight of Zimbabwe. It is also the story of the great love between John and his wife Nancy, the daughter of an English country vet who left England and all she loved to follow him. It tells of their struggle through separation, war, disease and natural disaster and of the enduring strength they found in each other. John Hammond was an extraordinary man – son of the headmaster of a remote European school in Plumtree, Rhodesia. He was born in a pole and dagga hut and wore no shoes until he was 14. Brought up speaking Ndebele like a native, he tracked with Ndebele friends over weekends and shot for the school and the village pot. His decision to go into black education following his MA at Cambridge University is the vital core of this book. John ’s Christian faith runs as a thread through the book, giving insight into the motivation and strength of character that inspired him and so impressed the black population that he was called ‘our father – the great teacher, loved by all Africans ’.

A Ndebele dictionary.