Author Elizabeth Zunon
About the Webinar
This Children's Africana Book Award Webinar, part of the Global Read Webinar Series, took place on February 26, 2020 with a presentation by Elizabeth Zunon, author and illustrator.
Three time CABA winner Elizabeth Zunon discussed her award-winning CABA books and her career. Her 2019 book, Grandpa Cacao, A Tale of Chocolate from Farm to Family combines her talents as an illustrator and an author. The picture book connects past and present as a girl bakes a chocolate cake with her father and learns how her grandfather harvested cacao beans in Ivory Coast, West Africa.
About the Author and Illustrator
Drawing and painting have always been among the most important things to Elizabeth Zunon. She was born in Albany, NY and spent her childhood in a hot, sunny, tropical country in West Africa, the Ivory Coast. Memories of her childhood can be seen in her artwork. In 2006 she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design. Now back in Albany, New York, she continues to draw, paint, collage, sew, silkscreen, and make jewelry.
CABA Winners authored and/or illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon
Zunon, Elizabeth. Grandpa Cacao : a tale of chocolate, from farm to family. Bloombury, 2019.
As a little girl and her father work together to make her birthday cake, he tells the story of her Grandpa Cacao, a farmer from the Ivory Coast who harvested cacao beans. Includes author’s note and a cake recipe.
Kamkwamba, William. The Boy who harnessed the wind. Dial Books for Young Children, 2012.
“When 14 year-old William Kamkwamba’s Malawi village was hit by a drought, everyone’s crops began to fail. Without enough money for food or school, William spent his days in the library and discovered how to bring electricity to his village by building a functioning windmill out of junkyard scraps.” –provided by publisher.
Paul, Miranda. One plastic bag : Isatou Ceesay and the recycling women of the Gambia. Millbrook, 2015.
Isatou Ceesay finds a way to recycle discarded plastic bags that have accumulated in dirty heaps in her Gambian village. By doing so she transforms her community. This inspirational true story shows how one person's actions really can make a difference in our world.
Watch the Webinar
About the Global Read Webinar Series
Once a month, the World Area Book Awards (Américas Award, Children's Africana Book Award, Freeman Book Award, Middle East Book Award, and the South Asia Book Award) sponsor a 60 minute webinar on a book recognized by one of the awards. The series of webinars is called Global Read Webinar Series. Each webinar features a presentation by an award-winning author with discussion on how to incorporate multicultural literature into the classroom. All sessions are free and open to the public.
The Children's Africana Book Awards is sponsored by the Outreach Council of the African Studies Association. The Center for African Studies at Howard University is the institutional base for the Awards.