An exploration of Beng philosophy and religion and how it relates to the way they bring up their children and conceptualise conception, birth and childhood. This ethnography of babies looks at how ideology informs rearing practices from bathing infants to teaching children to crawl and walk. The author discusses the way poverty is limiting traditional practices. Illustrated with b/w photographs. Index, refs, notes, maps, xxv, 404pp, USA. CHICAGO U P, 0226305023

Based on studies conducted by the Teenage Girls and Reproductive Health Study Group at the University of Dar es Salaam. Cover girls in education and pregnancy at school, arranged marriages, initiation, matrilineality, sexuality, adolescent mothers, contraception, and abortion issues. Refs, b/w photographs, tables, map, 218pp, SWEDEN. NORDIC AFRICA INSTITUTE. 9171063544

Accessible treatment of child labor in Africa, straightforward prose is enriched throughout with photo-graphs that give a human face to the issues involved. After providing a general background to the topic, it discusses the work typically done by African children in the home, as apprentices, and in commercial labour markets, and provides a discussion of the worst, exploitive kinds of child labour. 20pp, USA. LYNNE RIENNER.

A study of sedentary Nso farmers and nomadic Fulani pastorals, examining the childrearing of infants of 3-6 months of age. The issue of breastfeeding is looked in detail especially with regards to development support of the practice. Summary in English and German. Refs, apps, x, 218pp, GERMANY. LIT VERLAG, 3825865479

A report on participatory workshops. 32pp, SOUTH AFRICA. IDASA.

Detailed information about more than 300 languages spoken in London, including maps illustrating their demographic spread. Eight specialists discuss the relevance of this research for policy development. A4 format, col illus, 31 maps, index, iv, 92pp, UK. BATTLEBRIDGE PUBLICATIONS.

A book of ideas, resources and suggestions for active learning and participation, encouraging children's personal and social development, and promoting positive emotions. Bib, b/w illus, xiv, 124pp, UK. GREEN PRINT.

A study of the many sided nature of sexual abuse of young children. The opening section of the book confronts the realities of sexual abuse of pre pubertal children and the way abuse is represented in the press. The second section discusses the individual and socio cultural causes of child sexual abuse. Section three covers legal and policy responses to the problem while the fourth section presents a series of accounts of interventions on behalf of abused children drawn from South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. The book concludes with some critical reflections on research in this area. Index, refs, notes, xvi, 478pp, SOUTH AFRICA. HUMAN SCIENCES RESEARCH COUNCIL, 0796920532

A revealing look at teenagers and their lives in Africa. BNS, USA. GREENWOOD PRESS, 0313321949

2005 0415321026 Paperback

Are babies divine, or do they have the devil in them? Should parents talk to their infants, or is it a waste of time? Answers to questions about the nature and nurture of infants appear in this book as advice to parents in world societies. The book is organised into seven childcare 'manuals' from West African Fulani and Beng communities to an Australian aboriginal society. This book reveals how experts worldwide offer intriguingly different advice to new parents. The creative format of this book brings alive a rich fund of ethnographic knowledge, vividly illustrating a simple but powerful truth: there exist many models of babyhood, each shaped by deeply held values and widely varying cultural contexts. After reading this book, you will never again view child rearing as a matter of 'common sense'. Illustrated. BNS, 296pp, UK. CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS, 0521664756

Examines the crisis facing children and young people in Africa. The risk of contracting HIV and AIDS, falling educational standards and the rise in militarism and fundamentalist regimes all threaten the rights and futures of young Africans. Index, bib, notes, 284pp, ERITREA/USA. AFRICA WORLD PRESS, 0865438420

The term youthscapes places local youth practices within the context of ongoing shifts in national and global forces. Using this framework, the book revitalizes discussions about youth cultures and social movements, while simultaneously reflecting on the uses of youth as an academic and political category. Tracing young people's movements across physical and imagined spaces, the authors examine, among other topics, former child soldiers in Sierra Leone and Somali high school students in the United States and Canada. Drawing on methodologies and frameworks from multiple fields, such as anthropology, sociology, and film studies, the volume is useful to those studying and teaching issues of youth culture, popular culture, globalization, social movements, education, and media. Index, bib, notes, xxxv, 257pp, USA . UNIV. PRESS OF PENNSYLVANIA.