Young author Lone Phapane publishes first book
Lone Phaphane has written and published a book titled, The Adventures of two best friends.
The 10-year-old Standard 7 learner at Hillcrest International School in Gaborone told Vibe that she started writing at the age of 9. Her love for books was heightened after she joined a book club with a few of her friends. She also has a vast collection of books, which spurred her passion. Her favourite writers include Sophie Clevery, Chris Colfer, Rachel Reene Russel and Jeff Renney. A 7-year-old girl named Michelle Nkamankeng inspired her to write a book. “’I heard that she had written a book at young age, and this encouraged me. During the first lockdown
I started writing and that’s how my book came about,” she said. She said her writing is inspired by day-to-day experiences of a Motswana child, which she believes makes her book relatable. “I want my stories to show children that you are never too young or too old to do what you love. The best time to plant a seed was yesterday, the second best time is today, and the worst time is tomorrow. I would also like my book to be international, to show the world that anyone, regardless of where they come from, can achieve their dreams and contribute to their community,” she said. She added that her book also addresses several moral issues that children face in the modern world. “Inspired by Vision 2036, I had a picture of Botswana being a morally upright nation. We should be compassionate and kind citizens.” Her mother, Tshepo Phaphane, said her daughter started writing short stories in practice books and would go to YouTube to learn how to write properly. She said as a family, they encouraged Lone to read so they bought her books such as Wimpy Kid, Dork Diaries, Scarlet and Ivy, and A tale of magic, among others. “The main reason was to help her improve her writing skills because we noticed that most of her compositions at school were well written. At the time, we didn’t know that she would end up writing a book,” she said. She explained that the process of writing the book was not easy because at some point they felt that she was paying more attention to the book than her school work. “Again, we had other challenges of finding an illustrator and editor, but someone referred us to illustrator G Kgamane and editor Rachel Hore. We then self published the book with the support of the Department of Library Services.” The mother to the young writer encouraged parents to pay attention to their children’s interests, citing the Setswana adage that says, ‘Morogo wa ngwana ga o tlhotlhwe ditlhokwa’. “Sometimes what the child will be doing will not make sense to the parents, but at the children’s level, it makes sense, so it is up to parents to go to the level of their children and make sense of their passions and dreams.”