Journey to Jo’Burg (HarperCollins Children’s Modern Classics) (Journey to Jo'Burg Series Book 1)

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When I sent two copies of my first children’s book to nephews and nieces in South Africa in 1985, they never received the parcel. Instead, my sister-in-law received a letter telling her that the books had been seized and banned. PS I decided to write my review under this edition, although it is marked ”ebook”, because it matches the actual cover of the book I have.

The sun rose higher. On they walked. The heat sank into them and they felt the sweat on their bodies. On they walked. Alone again… My first illustrated response to Journey to Jo’burg in 1985, thanks to a schoolboy Jeffrey CooperFiction is a very good way of exploring reality, especially different viewpoints. I tend to do a lot of research before I create a story and characters that are fictional. So my stories are true in the sense that everything that happens could happen. That was why at the beginning of Journey to Jo’burg there are two press cuttings about real children who made incredible journeys to find their mothers. I can only guess because the government didn’t give any reasons. One likely reason was that half of the book’s royalties were going to a banned organisation, the British Defence and Aid Fund for Southern Africa, that was helping the families of political prisoners. Another baby has died in the village and Naledi knows that her little sister Dineo might die too. But what can she do? Their grandmother has no money and there are no doctors in their village. So Naledi makes up her mind. She will have to get Mma who works more than 300 kilometres away in Johannesburg. The only way to let her know was to get to the big road and walk. So Naledi and her brother Tiro did just that… so simple and straightforward that it makes accessible even to quite young children the difficult and the profound. Naledi is upset by everything she has heard and seen, but she is also grateful that she is learning so much about her mother and her world.

Set in South Africa, Naledi, a thirteen year old girl and her younger brother travel from their small village 300 km to get their mother (who works in Johannesburg) because their baby sister is very ill. They get help along the way from a number of people. In the process, Naledi learns about Apartheid from first hand experiences and stories from her friends. The book ends with her determined to speak with the older children at school and learn more. I think the book was a bit unrealistic in that one would expect a thirteen year old to know a bit about Apartheid. But it seems like a good introduction for American children on the subject. Ocr tesseract 4.1.1 Ocr_detected_lang en Ocr_detected_lang_conf 1.0000 Ocr_detected_script Latin Ocr_detected_script_conf 1.0000 Ocr_module_version 0.0.11 Ocr_parameters -l eng Old_pallet IA-NS-2000229 Openlibrary_edition Before they leave, Naledi’s friend Poleng gives them sweet potatoes to eat on their trip. She also agrees to tell Nono where they’ve gone once they’re safely away. Naledi and Tiro don’t want Nono and Mmangwane to be angry with them or keep them from going. Don't underestimate this short and easy read.I actually almost have up on it because this first time I tried reading it I got confused by the characters and went to sleep! I tried again tonight and I read the whole thing in one sitting! If you have read The Help, this is an equivalent book for children. The period is South Africa's apartheid years, and while I'm rating four for writing, I'm rating another star for the depiction of tendencies towards popular activism and bringing about change. I also like that there is a simple map.I used this book within my Year 4 literacy lessons and I thought it was a great way to get the children aware of what was happening in South Africa in the time of the Apartheid. It opened up great discussions and the children were wanting to ask questions relating to it. We were able to complete a number of activities relating to the book such as, writing a diary entry as if they were Naledi, thinking of different items they could take on their journey and doing a conscience alley and role play by giving advice on whether Naledi and Tiro should go.

At the end of Out of Bounds (where each story is set in a different decade) there is a factual time line giving real events and an interested reader can explore connections. The main worry of course, is whether they can find their mother; after that, can they save their sister?Why did I choose this book? Well, I watched a reality show on Netflix called ”Jewish Matchmaking” (I'm not sure I recommend it :D) and two persons on the show where from Jo(')burg in South Africa. I stopped and went on Wikipedia (my go-to source on almost everything) to see what the deal with Jo'burg is (it is Johannesburg indeed!) and this is why this book appealed to me. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (French former tennis player) has no apparent relation to South Africa (I think I assumed he had).

Beverley Naidoo (a white child) got a vaccine against diphteria, the children of the woman helping her family did not get this chance...

That night, Naledi and Tiro travel toward Grace’s home by train. At one stop, the kids are pushed off the train by the exiting crowd and are separated from Grace. On the train platform, there is a surprise pass raid by the police. Adults without passes are taken to jail. Naledi and Tiro are not arrested because they are not yet 16, the age when a pass is needed. Soon after, Grace finds them, and the three complete their journey to Soweto. After going with a friend to a restaurant in Frankfurt, even though it was raining like crazy, it did not stop me from going to Oxfam, where I did behave: I only got this one book (1 euro). Nelson Mandela, 1964 and 1990 https://beverleynaidoo.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Beverly-Naidoo-Refugee-Council-Turning18.mp3 My knowledge about South Africa until reading this YA book? Roger Federer has some connections with the country (wiki: his mother is from there); Nelson Mandela; Charlize Theron; 2010 FIFA World Cup (vuvuzela...); of course apartheid. But this was pretty much it. (I know of some famous writers from the country, but never read any of them. Yes.) I start with writing notes on scraps of paper as well as beginning a notebook. This is my ‘first ideas’ stage. When researching, I talk to people, visit places, take photographs, read and so on. Burn My Heart, for instance, came out of two visits to Kenya. The seeds of the novel began to emerge during my first visit. By my second visit, I was much more focused, wanting to see particular landscapes, places and people. By this stage I was already thinking about my plot. Although my plot may change a bit as I write, it is important for me to have a sense of the shape of the whole story and how I intend to tell it. Afterwards comes the actual writing – usually draft after draft! Then editing – by myself and with my editor. I often ask a few people to whom I have spoken while researching if they will read my story and comment. This helps me get a bit of distance from what I’ve written. Altogether, it’s a long slow process – but very satisfying in the end.