Scoop

Tell us a little about your work . . . I own a small library called Libreria, in Accra, the capital of a country called Ghana, which is in West Africa. I have over 2,000 books and I lend them to people who also like to read. It’s great because you ge

My sister, Aku Sika, and I always spend the holidays with our grandma in the village. We love it here. There are always things to do, new people to meet and fresh, delicious food to eat. Lucy, my grandma’s pet goat is pregnant and I hope she has her

Finona, or Fe as she was known to her family and friends, was born completely free from fear. Her parents claimed she was born under a lucky star because she possessed the strength of mind and body that most grown ups could only ever dream of. She wo

Ishouldn’t have gone to the parlour. I should never go to the parlour, unless I’ve been ordered to clean out the fireplace or dust down the bookcases. I was supposed to be in the kitchen helping Mrs Sandall, the cook, take the stones out the greengag

In 1932, an American biologist named Ivan T. Sanderson was on safari in Cameroon when he sighted a beast so enormous that it made an elephant look like a child’s toy. Sanderson reported its head alone was almost the size of a fully grown hippopotamus

My relationship with poetry feels like my relationship with air. It’s always been there and has always been essential. I rarely discuss poetry, but like air it is always around me: I’m always using it, leaning on it, depending on it. It took me a whi

IT SEEMED THAT THE TOWN LAY BENEATH THE ETHER OF TIME.NOTHING STIRRED. THE HEAT PARALYZED MEN AND OBJECTS AS IFNOTHING WOULD EVER AGAIN COME ALIVE. THE YOUNG GOATS ASIF FROZEN IN A FINAL ACT HUGGING THE HOUSE WALLS. THE REDEARTH FLOODED THE ROADS AND

Yellowman isn’t actually called Yellowman – his name is Winston, and he grew up in Jamaica. Yellowman is very important in the world of reggae, he was the first dancehall artist to be signed to a major record label. That was in 1981 and he signed to

1. THE LOCATION OF THE WORLD’S OLDEST CIVILISATION? Ancient Egypt’s Pharaonic civilisations date back to 3100 BC. 2. THE WORLD’S LONGEST RIVER? The Nile is 4,132 miles long. 3. THE LARGEST WATERFALL? Victoria Falls is one mile wide Zambia is on one s

Artists from across the vast continent of Africa – as well as artists of African heritage from every corner of the world – are now making their mark as never before on the contemporary art scene. El Anatsui from Ghana makes huge ‘cloths’ of bottle

How far would you go to protect your most treasured possessions? What would you be willing to risk to save your family’s precious heirlooms? These were the questions facing Abdel Kader Haidara in 2012 when his city of Timbuktu, in the West African c

Even as Erasto Mpemba put up his hand, his schoolmates started jeering. They knew what he was going to ask – it was his obsession – and they did not want to be embarrassed by a classmate demonstrating his ignorance of physics in that way.  Throughout

On 3 July 2019, the state of California signed the CROWN Act into law. Its purpose? To protect its citizens from discrimination based on their natural hair. This new law prohibits workplaces and schools from enforcing policies against particular hai

We live in a world where we punish bad behaviour. If we have done something naughty at school we might be punished by not being allowed to play in the playground or, even worse, a detention. At home we may be sent to our rooms, have the Wi-Fi disconn

What were your favourite comics as a kid? I read anything and everything when I was a kid. The more strips the merrier! Funny strips, action, romance, science fiction... I was particularly fascinated by a old book of golf comics for some reason. I t

Tell us a little about yourself. My name is Zac and I am seven years old. My birthday is in December, which is summer where I live. Where do you live? I live in Cape Town in a big, old house, which has lots of leaks in it when it rains. Our house