African Voices Matter In Children’s Literature

My Nunu is growing up fast and the older she gets the more I realise how Black and Brown children are unrepresented in literature, it’s shocking. If anything I hope this blog post encourages more authors to include BIPOC characters in literature (especially children’s literature) and write in our mother languages.

According to a 2018 study in the US, only 23% of all children’s books depicted characters from diverse backgrounds (10% were African/ African-American 318 books, 7% were Asian Pacific Islander/ Asian Pacific American 218 books, 5% were Latinix 170 books and 1% were American Indians/ First Nations 23 books) compared to the 50% that depicted white children and 27% that depicted animals.

This means my daughter (and others like her) do not see themselves in literature which impacts their view on beauty, self worth and other perceptual views they may have of themselves. To change the notions of “white” being better and “colour” being inferior we need to change perceptions. This starts at with what we consume from a young age especially in the media. This is why we need more more inclusivity.

Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

According to the Publishers Association of South Africa (PASA), 65% of children’s books published between 2000 and 2015 were produced in English and Afrikaans, and just 7% in South Africa’s most widely spoken language, isiZulu. This is ridiculous in a country that has 11 official languages.

This is more than true for other African countries as well. Less and less of our languages are being recorded in literature which in part is perpetuating the extinction of African languages. We to keep our stories, folklores, cultures and traditions alive. The only vehicle we have to do this with is language. We need to keep these languages going for us to preserve who we are as people. This is why we need more representation.

Photo by Skylar Kang on Pexels.com

Let me quote Pastor J Maponga who said ‘If we strive to become like the white man, we deny the white man an opportunity to experience the black man’. Our languages are who we are, by producing literature that shows characters that look like us and literature that is written in our languages we give other the opportunity to indulge in our ways, to learn and understand who we are and where we come from. By so doing we create empathy for all. This is why we need more diversity.

Young African Authors to Watch

The Afrobloggers’ WinterABC has been challenging for me, staying consistent and on top of things can be hectic but we move. This post is my Stories of Africa post. If you know anything about me, you know I am passionate about the reading culture especially in little ones. I decided to put together a list of young authors to watch out for!

1. Onald Gwiriri

Onald Gwiriri – Image from Google

Onald became the youngest winner of Zimbabwe’s National Arts Merit Awards this year. The 10 year old was awarded the NAMA for Outstanding Children’s Book for his book titled ‘The Cursing Tortoise’.

2.Michelle Nkadimeng

Michelle Nkadimeng – Image from Google

Michelle (born 2008) became the youngest ever author South Africa has seen at the age of 7 when she published her first book titled ‘Waiting for the Waves’. The book was part of a series with 4 parts. The other three books in the series are ‘The little girl who believes in herself’, ‘The Little Mouse’, and ‘The Golden Ring’.

3. Wakatendeka Bwanya

Wakatendeka Bwanya – Image from Google

Waka Bwanya is a young author who wrote a book titled ‘My Teapot Country’ at age 8 inspired by her travels to Zimbabwe. She shares her real life experiences from her explorations of Zimbabwe. From the country’s landscape to its folklore and culture.

4. Stacey Fru

Stacey Fru – Image from Google

Having published her first book, ‘Smelly Cat’, at age 8 Stacey Fru now has 5 book titles under her belt. Stacey has received awards for ‘Smelly Cat’ as well as a Young Leader award. In 2015, The Stacey Fru Foundation was launched, it supports educational initiatives for children from under served communities.

It is safe to say African literature is in good hands! Add more young authors you know of in the comment section.

Joburg Noir: A Book Review

I fell in love with contemporary African literature a long time ago. Literature I could envision myself in, literature that told my story better than I could imagine myself doing. I found slice in it. It cried for me, celebrated on my behalf, embraced me and screamed to world who I was when I could not.

I fell in love with African literature a long time ago. When I saw it open doors of my imagination I never knew were there. To see mirrors, people like me in these books. Things I never saw growing up and it warms my heart. This book was no different.

I saw myself or someone I knew in a lot of the stories. I recognised stories we were told growing up even though these were set in Joburg. To me it said we are all one and the same. It told stories I am at times scared to articulate, it humanised me and my people. It told of relationships, friendships that some may not understand.

Like any city, Joburg is bright and vibrant but Joburg also devours and destroys.

Things I Liked About The Book:

1. I liked how reading this book felt. It tells raw stories that could be anywhere in Africa and still be true.

2. I loved the diversity of authors chosen for the compilation. I recognised a few names but most were new to me. It’s great when you meet a new writer and their writing is great!

3. This was such an easy read for me. It took me 4 days with everything else still going on as usual for me to finish it. Super quick read.

P.s. on the down side I really didn’t like how almost unfinished most of the stories felt. I really didn’t like how I would feel like I was left hanging just before the climax of the story after the last sentence.

An overall great read!

A Dancer’s Tale: A Book Review

Happy World Book Day!

I thought it fitting to do a review today. It's been a while since I last posted a children's book review so here is one.

A Dancer's Tale follows the story of Phyllis Spira, a South African prima ballerina.(I didn't know who she was, this book was my first time coming across her name). It takes us from her love of dance at a young age to the peak of her career and her endeavours after. There were a lot of things I discovered and loved about this lady in this book. This is a great book for 3 to 6 year olds.

Things I loved about the book:

1. It RHYMES! Loved the readability the writer did great. Its easy to read to little ones.
2. I loved how simple everything was made. It has enough information to help your little one grasp and understand Phyllis but is not overwhelming to little minds. 
3. The illustrations weren't my cup of tea but my Nunu seems to like them.
4. The story was engaging

What do you think my next children’s book review should be?

Upon the Sands: A Book Review

This book was gifted to me by Jeremy Forsyth in return for an honest review.

Signed copy!!

I have read fantasy before (mostly along the Harry Potter lines) and if you know me, then you know I have become quite a sucker for African fantasy (is that the official name?). This book, however, was a delve into uncharted territory for me.

I struggled a bit getting into the rhythm of the book, getting to see the world Jeremy had created and I won’t lie, I thought it was going to go on my DNF reading list more than once but as an author myself I get what Jeremy is trying to do so I willed myself and kept reading those first hundred pages. Part of the struggle I definately attribute to not reading any of Jeremy’s earlier books which would have acted as an introduction to the Elven world. I am definately glad I stuck it out though because it is such a great read.

Jeremy’s earlier books

The book is the first in a series titled a Symphony of Shadow and Darkness.

Upon the Sands

The book is set in the Elvin Realms with a particular focus on the Moon elves. Although the Moon’s reign seems steady at the beginning of the book, a series of what seems like coordinated events want to threaten that. With assassination attempts against the Throne, attacks on Blade masters including those that have left the Realm, dark prophecies and jeopadised alliances by the end of the book I was envoloped and engrossed. I was obsessed with this book and couldn’t wait to find out what happened next.

Map of Alepion

I was so sad to have finished reading it and couldn’t stand that I was left hanging, I wish I had book two right there with me.

Things I loved about the books

1. I loved that although this book is part of a series, it does well as a stand alone book.

2. I love how every character is introduced with a bit of background to give the reader a better understanding

3. I love the unimaginable number of spin offs that can come from this book and I am going to read each and everyone

4. It made me a proper fantasy fan! I wanna be an elf and don’t want to age like a human lol

5. I loved how it made me think, trying to figure out clues and solved seeming riddles in the story!

I definately recommend it and give it a 3.5/5 rating

---

‘If you know they will be OK, what is the point of reading? And if you know they will be OK, what is the point of me writing? – Jeremy Forsyth

Find more about him and his books here.

There’s A New Literary Magazine On The Block!

Happy World Read Aloud Day!

Exciting times are upon us as we introduce The Author’s Literary Essentials (ALE), a publication designed to address building a digital footprint for the literary mind. It is a literary journey of discovery, our very own space to network, promote and appreciate literary work. It is dedicated to all the aspirational authors, bloggers and content creators out there. 

Released three times a year, this publication is available online via our website both in print and digital formats offering new and seasoned writers an opportunity to express themselves creatively.

Over the years, we have discovered that cultivating a lifetime reading habit is not easy. Technological advancements have specifically been a stumbling block to this effect. It is therefore important to promote environments where reading is valued, promoted and actively encouraged as this goes a long way in reviving the reading culture. 

In this Volume, we cover audiobooks, podcasts, blogs and writing tips. TAP into awesome conversations we’ve had with our spotlight features – Publisher & Author Daniella Blechner and Podcaster Tinto! We are proud to canvas international authors, bloggers, content creators and publishers – giving you exceptional literary content for your inspiration and enjoyment, as well as, writing and publishing tips. As if that wasn’t enough, this publication is teeming with expressive poetry and nostalgic short stories spilling into our podcasts and talk shows as we continue conversations to gain insight, to be inspired and to take away some wisdom nuggets!

We hope to connect with as many of you as possible to network, promote and find solutions to keep the reading culture alive. If you want to be featured, want to sponsor, or contribute in any way, we’d like to hear from you. Do not forget to follow us on our social media handles, subscribe to our channels and visit our website for more incredible content.

Find RM Publishers on:

Website

Instagram

Facebook

Email: info@rm-pa.org/ rmpublishers21@gmail.com

---

This article is a guest post by RM Publishers.