Where to buy an African children’s book, in Abidjan or from France?

In short: in Abidjan, the easiest option is to order from our online shop, delivered within 24 to 48 hours for 2,000 F CFA, or to pick up your order for free in Angré; the Librairie Vie d’Impact bookshop, in Angré Château, also sells our collections. Elsewhere in Côte d’Ivoire, allow 3 to 5 business days. We don’t ship to France yet: our books are distributed there by La Boutique Africavivre and by Amazon.

A book of African folktales for children isn’t something you find on just any shelf. Here, place by place, is where to buy one, what it costs, and what you receive.

The table, at a glance

In Abidjan

Order online

Our shop delivers throughout Abidjan, hand-delivered by our own courier or a partner courier, within 24 to 48 hours after the order is confirmed. We call you before coming by, so please give a number where you can be reached. The delivery fee is 2,000 F CFA, and delivery is free on orders from 32,800 F CFA .

Pay however you like: bank card (Visa, Mastercard) or Mobile Money (Orange Money, MTN MoMo, Moov Money) when you order, or on delivery, in cash, in which case we first confirm the order by phone. We don’t store any banking data: online payments go through Paystack.

Pick up in person

You can also collect your order from our address in Cocody Angré, at Petro Ivoire, and avoid the delivery fee. Just one rule: write to us before ordering, at editions@ultimesgriots.com, to arrange a time. Pickup is not yet offered as an option at checkout, which is why you need to go through us.

At a bookshop

The Librairie Vie d’Impact, in Angré Château, at the Batim crossroads, stocks 54 Tales of Africa Part One and Part Two, and delivers in Abidjan itself. If you’d like to leaf through the books before buying, that’s the place to go.

Elsewhere in Côte d’Ivoire

Our shop delivers across the whole country. Books leave from Abidjan and are carried by a delivery company or a transport company depending on the destination, within 3 to 5 business days. Same fees as in Abidjan: 2,000 F CFA, free from 32,800 F CFA. Delivery times are indicative and may be longer when the address is hard to reach or during busy periods.

Cash on delivery is available here too, after confirmation by phone.

From France and for the diaspora

Let’s be clear: our shop does not yet deliver outside Côte d’Ivoire. If you live in France, Belgium, Canada or elsewhere, you have two options.

Resellers. La Boutique Africavivre, an online shop specializing in African books, has a page dedicated to Ultimes Griots: there you’ll find 54 Tales of Africa Part One and Part Two in print and digital editions, as well as our comics The Awakening of the Jeli and Dissongo. Our books are also on Amazon, in paperback and on Kindle. Fees and delivery times are those of the reseller.

Write to us. If you’d rather order directly from us, want a title a reseller doesn’t carry, or need a group shipment for a school or an association, write to us at editions@ultimesgriots.com before ordering. We look at every request and tell you the actual shipping cost.

What you receive

Our books are illustrated works, published in Abidjan by Ultimes Griots Group. The collections 54 Tales of Africa offer one tale per country, with a table of contents; the Côte d’Ivoire Special volume, one tale per ethnic group. Our comics, Mariam Plays Ball, The Awakening of the Jeli and Dissongo, are contemporary or futuristic stories with African heroes. To choose between them, this comparison measures our books and other publishers’ books against the same criteria.

If a copy reaches you damaged, incomplete or different from what you ordered, let us know within 14 days with a photo: exchange or refund, with return costs paid by us. And if the book isn’t right for you, you have 7 days after receipt to tell us; return costs are then yours, and the refund is made within 14 days to the payment method you used. Everything is explained in detail on our pages Shipping and Returns and Refunds.

How to recognize an African book made by Africans

Wherever you buy, three questions are enough to tell a book of collected folktales from a book of compiled ones:

1. Where does each tale come from? A country or a people should be named, tale by tale. “Tales of Africa” with nothing more is a warning sign.
2. Who brought it back? A tale was heard somewhere, from someone. A book that says nothing about how its tales were collected probably didn’t collect any.
3. Who drew it? The illustrators’ names should appear in the book. Images without an author are often images without a point of view.

This is the test we apply to our own books, and the one we invite you to apply to all the others, in our guide to African folktale books.

Frequently asked questions

Can I pay with Mobile Money?
Yes, Orange Money, MTN MoMo and Moov Money are accepted when you order, via Paystack. You can also pay by card, or in cash on delivery.

How long does delivery take in Abidjan?
24 to 48 hours after the order is confirmed, with a call before the courier comes by.

Do you deliver to Bouaké, Yamoussoukro, San-Pédro?
Yes, everywhere in Côte d’Ivoire, within 3 to 5 business days, via a delivery company or a transport company.

Do you deliver to France?
Not yet. Our books are available there from La Boutique Africavivre and on Amazon. For a shipment from Abidjan, write to us: we look at every request.

Can I come and buy in person?
Yes, in Cocody Angré, by appointment arranged by email before you order. Pickup is free.

Are there digital versions?
Yes, 54 Tales of Africa Part One and Part Two and our comics are available as ebooks from La Boutique Africavivre, and our titles are on Kindle.

And to listen to the tales?
Our app KUMA is on Google Play, and the podcast 54 Tales is available on our Audio Tales page.