A dazzling photoessay combines an energizing, poetic text with crisp, colorful photographs and an engaging, playful design. Seven-year-old Kofi lives in Bonwire, the West African village known for its beautiful Kente cloth. Kofi likes to weave, and he likes to travel. "I sit down, Close my eyes, Open my mind," Kofi explains, and he is transported to other places in Africa that he has always wanted to see. Kofi's magic is his vivid imagination, but his journey comes alive for readers through words and images depicting both his own life and each place he visits with a joyous sense of appreciation and discovery. Honor Book, 1996 CCBC Coretta Scott King Award Discussion: Author (Ages 6-8)

With full-color photographs. Now in paperback, "My Painted House, My
Friendly Chicken, and Me" is the enchanting story of an eight-year-old girl
named Thandi, her village, her mischievous brother, her best friend--a
chicken--and the remarkable mural art that is produced by the Ndebele women.
With over seventy photographs of the reclusive Ndebele women and their
breathtaking paintings, "My Painted House, My Friendly Chicken, and Me"
documents the passing of traditions from parent to child while introducing
young readers to a new culture through a new friend. "Angelou's prose, like the
art, is unlike what you've seen before" ( "Chicago Tribune" ). "Poet
Angelou's impish narrative and Margaret Courtney-Clarke's ravishing photos
create an entrancing vision...." ( "Entertainment Weekly" ). To be published
simultaneously with "Kofi and His Magic," a new hardcover collaborative
effort by Angelou and Courtney-Clarke.