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The history of and current trends in the publication of children's books in Subsaharan Africa are discussed, and the books' contents are examined. The publication of children's books for African children was started by Euroamerican missionaries in the 19th century. Publication was always related to education. With the achievement of independence, children's books with African content were needed to further the development of African nationalism. In addition, Africans needed editorial control over the production of books for their children. Thus began the process of the indigenization of publishing in Africa, which still continues today. Presently, 80 percent of published books are for children. The publication of all kinds of books has nearly doubled since 1975, but the publication of children's books has more that tripled in the same period. African children's books include a wealth of folklore. Most fiction written for African children is didactic. The adventure story is replacing the fictional child biography as the predominant type of story. The publication of African children's literature is expected to triple again before the end of this century. (RM)