This collection of books in Bambara “Friends” is for readers growing in confidence and widening their horizons with more emphasis on moral and social themes, flights of imagination, and more challenging vocabulary and syntax. All books in our collections are created by Malian authors and illustrators and are grounded in the language, culture and environment familiar to Malian children, even as many of the books take the children to worlds outside of Mali. While the books are designed to have pedagogical value, they aim, above all, to be deliciously delightful to children of all ages.