The African Child is an autobiographical French novel by Camara Laye published in 1953 as L'enfant noir. It tells the story of a young African child, Baba, growing up in Guinea. The novel won the Prix Charles Veillon writing prize. It was translated into English by James Kirkup and issued in the US in 1954 as The Dark Child. It was adapted into a movie called L'enfant noir in 1995. Many of the cast in the film were relatives of Laye.