Representing over 80 African artists : Posting over 600 original African paintings : Sold over 2,400 paintings : Online since 1999
                       

 Recommended Books

Inside African Art, in association with Amazon.com, is proud to recommend the following books. All of these books are by Julia Stewart who has lived and worked in Africa for the past 13 years, primarily in Kenya, Eritrea, Rwanda, and is currently working in Angola. Her books are not only informative as they go into great cultural and historical detail, but are interesting and fun to read. In addition, they are scattered with marvelous illustrations by Todd Schaffer, your host! 

Julie's latest book, Stewart's Quotable Africa, will be out soon.

If you are interested in purchasing any of these books, click the link below the book and you will be whisked-away to the appropriate page on Amazon.com. Don't forget to come back!

In Africa, culture-specific traditions exist for naming children. Often the time when the child is born - in daylight, on market day, the day of the week - influence the name: Children born on Friday in Swahili cultures may be called Juma, which is derived from the Kiswahili word Ijuma, Friday.

From Aba to Zuri, African Names offers more than a thousand names from all corners of the African continent. Names are listed alphabetically and include country of origin as well as their English translations.

Here, too, are facts about the cultures and rulers of this enormous landmass, which now comprise 53 nations, casting lands and people in a new light.

African Names : Names from the African Continent for Children and Adults


When African Names became a best-seller, Julia Stewart wrote the sequel - not because of the original book's success, but because there were still so many more wonderful African names for people to know! 1,001 African Names offers a wide selection of first and last names from more than 25 African countries.

A Tonga child born of parents who used traditional herbs to induce pregnancy might be called Michelo, which means "roots, herbs."

This book also includes over 30 original illustrations by Todd Schaffer (your host!)

1,001 African Names : First and Last Names from the African Continent

Over many centuries African people have offered the world an abundance of proverbs, riddles, fables, songs, and poetry. Since this wisdom is usually spread orally from generation to generation, portions are lost with each death. "When an elder dies," an African proverb says, "it is as if a whole library has burned down."

This book carries the reader on a journey of literary and cultural discovery across all regions of the continent. Readers will learn new phrases to pepper their language, will understand the torment of love as expressed in Swahili poems, and they will learn the wisdom of leaders and political thinkers.

Highly useful as a historical calendar, this collection provides a reflective and browsable commemoration of African Culture. The proverbs and quotations on all of the main Artist's Pages are from this book.
African Proverbs and Wisdom : A collection for Every Day of the Year


There are some places that hound the imagination of a traveler years before they actually have the opportunity to visit. This is how the ancient lands of Eritrea and Ethiopia beckoned to author Julia Stewart. Breathtaking landscapes, attractive citizens, intricately spiced foods, a gentle culture rich in history - it was all waiting for her. 

What she could not predict were several mysterious happenings: harassment at the hands of "union busters", an impromptu running of the bulls, coming face to face with abject poverty, and her own reaction to these unpredictable events. Stewart found many surprises, good and bad, and she shares them all with her readers. 
Eccentric Graces : Eritrea and Ethiopia Through the Eyes of a Traveler  
 

The African American Book of Days : Inspirational History and Thought for Every Day of the Year - Currently out of Stock - Will advise in this space when in.

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