*African Heroes by Jerome Gay, Jr.

African Heroes introduces children to heroes of the faith who are from Africa in this vibrantly illustrated picture book from New Growth Press.

Note: this is one of our featured titles for our 2024 Summer Reading Program—Around the World: Asia & Africa! You can buy this book, and the rest, through our Summer Reading Book Fair with Storyglory Kids. (Use our coupon code Redeemed15 for 15% off your books!).

*African Heroes: Discovering Our Christian Heritage by Jerome Gay, Jr. and illustrated by John Joven. New Growth Press, 2023. 64 pages.

• Reading Level: Picture books, ages 8-10
• Recommended For: Ages 6-12

Tertulllian loved to stand up for God’s Word. If he ever heard anyone making fun of God, or spreading lies about him, he quickly ran to God’s defense. He didn’t want anyone believing things about God that weren’t true.

~from “Tertullian” in African Heroes

Thankfully, biblical picture book creators (and publishers) in recent years have made great strides in illustrating biblical stories more authentically (i.e. with a Jesus that looks, well, like a Middle Eastern Jew and not a blue-eyed white man). I haven’t seen very many picture books that approach church history in a similar way.

Gay’s African Heroes zeroes in on the heroes of the church that are from Africa. Some of them may be familiar names, like Augustine or Athanasius; have you ever stopped to remember that they were African? Others are less familiar (at least to me): Felicity or Pachomius the Great. The fact that each of these heroes is from Africa isn’t what dominates the text, however. Instead, the focus is clearly on the godly figures, their stories and character, and some of their contributions to church history. What a delight to learn more about these early heroes of the faith!

A frame story of a Black family begins and ends this book. Each African hero gets his or own own chapter in the middle (Perpetua and Felicity are grouped together). Each chapter has a theme verse, cheerful illustrations, and a central idea based upon the subject’s life, such as “confidence” or “service.” Church libraries and Sunday school nurseries would do well to stock this title, but individuals should also seek it out. Sadly, Christian picture books don’t often lurk in the shelves of our local libraries.

Overall Rating: 4.75 (out of 5)

• Worldview/moral value: 5.0
• Artistic/literary value: 4.25

Read more about our ratings here. An * indicates a starred review.

Recommended Reading at Redeemed Reader

• Book Review: Courageous World Changers briefly covers the lives of 50 women throughout the world and history who lived for Christ.
• Book Review: One of our favorite church history resources is Epic by Tim Challies because it looks at artifacts instead of people. Travel the world looking at pieces of church history!
• Book Review: Church History for Everyone by Simonetta Carr is another terrific family reference.

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