GRANDAD MANDELA

By ZAZI, ZIWELENE & ZINDZI MANDELA Quarto Publishing How do you explain Nelson Mandela to your kids and get across the full extent of who he was and the dramatic effect he had on SA?

This book is a great option. Narrated by Madiba’s greatgrandchildren Zazi (8) and Ziwelene (6), it focuses on the things children are most likely to find interesting – including questions such as, was he ever able to have a birthday party while in jail?

In the book Zazi and Ziwelene ask their grandmother Zindzi to tell them more about the icon. Through 15 questions they find out who he was, how he went to school and became a lawyer, the madness of apartheid and the brutality of the police who helped enforce it, why Madiba was sent to jail for so long and the impact this had on his family.

It sounds heavy but it’s not. Woven into the story are big dollops of love and humour, and the illustrations by Sean Qualls are breathtaking.

Ultimately the message is that even though Madiba is gone his legacy lives on – through people who are willing to go out of their way to continue his work. Highly recommended.

There are big dollops of love and humour