African Queens: Incredible Stories of Africa's Legendary Women Leaders

By Author / Illustrator

Onyinye Iwu

Genre

Non Fiction

Age range(s)

Publisher

Walker Books

ISBN

9781529500523

Format

Hardcover

Published

13-08-2026

Synopsis

Travel through 2,000 years of history and meet the legendary women leaders of Africa - from Queen Hatshepsut of ancient Egypt to the fierce Amazon warriors of Dahomey and many more - this is the perfect pick for Black History Month.

Be inspired by the empowering stories of trailblazing queens, like: The Sudanese queen, Amanirenas, who defeated the Romans; The Moroccan pirate queen, Sayyida Al-Hurra, who took back her treasure; The mighty Queen Mother of Ghana, Yaa Asantewaa, who tricked an empire; The wonderful warrior women of Dahomey (Benin) who protected their king, and many more!

Bursting full of bold illustrations and astounding facts, these tales of courageous queens will be perfect for inspiring any budding historians and an ideal gift for fans of Little People Big Dreams, Fantastically Great Women, David Olusoga's Black and British, and Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls.

"This is a bold, important and joyful book! It will make any girl's heart swell with pride. I would have treasured it as a little girl" - Atinuke, award-winning author of Africa, Amazing Africa

Reviews

Jacqueline

African Queens: Incredible Stories of Africa's Legendary Women Leaders is a very accessible history book for younger readers. Starting in 1504 BCE with Queen Hatshepsut of Egypt, it travels through time telling the stories of African Queens up until1924 and Queen Mekatilili of Kenya.

Each woman is completely fascinating and different and yet they often have the common thread of not being considered good enough to be queen due to their gender. I knew of some of these women, but others were completely new to me and probably all would be new to children.

The illustrations are captivating and help young readers imagine these extraordinary, strong women. The book does not shy away from murder or war, and yet it is not gruesome, even when it must have been very gruesome at the time.

As soon as I read it, I knew exactly which children would really enjoy it because it is a nonfiction that looks like a picture book and the explanations are very simple, whilst not at all being dumbed down. A really lovely and useful addition to an inclusive school library or book corner.

32 pages / Reviewed by Jacqueline Harris, teacher