Africa at the Internet Archive: The Hunterman and the Crocodile

I'm excited to have three books for today's post that show the beautiful artwork and also the artful storytelling of Baba Wagué Diakité, who was born in Mali and who is now based in Oregon. First up is: The Hunterman and the Crocodile.

The version at the Internet Archive comes from the International Children's Digital Library, and the navigation is a bit awkward, so you might find it easier to use the actual ICDL version that was captured by the Wayback Machine. 

The artwork is delightful, and this book won a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor in 1998.

There is also beautiful artwork to be found in The Hatseller and the Monkeys published in 1999:

And I think his best artwork of all three is in Mee-An and the Magic Serpent, published in 2007:

You can learn more about Diakité from a children's book that he wrote as a memoir about growing up in Mali: A Gift from Childhood.

You might also remember Diakité from a book I had blogged about earlier for which he did the illustrations, the stories are by Adwoa Badoe: The Pot of Wisdom: Ananse Stories.

For more, visit his website: Baba Wagué Diakité. You can also find his work at the U.S. State Department's "Art in Embassies" project, which includes this gorgeous piece: Hold Onto My Back.

Meanwhile, his books await you at the Internet Archive, just a click away!

The Hunterman and the Crocodile

The Hatseller and the Monkeys 

 Mee-An and the Magic Serpent