Janet Smith
PROFESSOR EXPERIMENTO’S FRIGHTENING FORMULA by Janie Oosthuysen (Human & Rousseau, R24,95)
Children who are already on their way to reading novels will love this unusual little drama, set in a scientific lab, where rats are infinitely more brave and clever than the humans who would experiment on them.
It tells the tale of a small society of creatures who observe their potentially brutal surroundings with a wry sense of humour and a sure sense of trepidation.
The book also works well as a means of introducing children to vivisection and other acts of cruelty to animals – without proselytising.
CONTACT by CB Peper (Tafelberg, R32,95)
Increasingly, young people are internalising the notion of life beyond that on this planet, and this surprising entry into the limited South African science fiction market advances the idea that there is more to existence than humanity.
It’s a surprising book because there is very little science fiction available for young teenagers. The award-winning writer of the book tells a complex and technically-detailed story about a boy whose disappointing life in a mining colony is changed and challenged when he encounters a strange, wistful creature far from home.
It should prove compelling reading especially for 11 to 14-year-olds with more on their minds than the average mallrat.
DAR AND THE SPEAR-THROWER by Marjorie Cowley (Clarion Books, R29,95)
The lifestyle of Cro-Magnon man is not a popular theme in novels for young adults, but this beautifully-paced novel bridges a distance of 15E000 years with a sure sense of what it is that we understand today about ancient social systems.
The novel locates us in a place we now know as France to meet an inspired boy on a mission to find a reason for his existence. It’s a simple enough premise, but the author has decided not to import clichd, jokey comparisons with today’s world, opting instead for a more profound examination of the universal child seeking after truth – and excitement.
Dar is found amid the paraphernalia and relative chaos of an initiation ceremony among his clan when he realises he has a greater goal than becoming a hunter. He wants meaning, and as the book progresses, we discover he has deep artistic talent which can only be shared among a select few.
A first-class read for older teens.
WHO’S AFRAID OF SPIDERS? by Helen Brain (Human & Rousseau, R27,95)
Author Helen Brain lives on the West Coast where this charming children’s novel is set, and it’s fun to read her dialogue which reflects the patois of a fascinating region.
This story of two friends whose curiosity leads them into a potentially explosive situation with a hive of criminals should please awkward readers who prefer the action of television to the requirements of the imagination in books. It winds a lively thread through the innocence of discovery to the triumph of good over evil, and the fine illustrations by Cora Coetzee add further elements of authenticity.
SARNY: A LIFE REMEMBERED by Gary Paulsen (Macmillan, R34)
Sarny is the kind of children’s literature that should make confident young teenage readers long to pen their own books as it reveals the beauty of writing inside a truly compelling story with a well-intentioned historical bent.
Author Gary Paulsen wrote this book as a sequel to his celebrated Nightjohn, which dealt with the same theme of freedom from slavery which acquaints itself exquisitely with the freedom of the spirit.
As American novels for young readers go, this one – like Nightjohn – is exceptional. Its dialogue recounts the voices of the southern plantations as we know them from television and the movies, but records them and the people who speak with a genuine sensitivity that is often lacking on the screen.
THE PRICE OF A CHICKEN by Pieter Pieterse (Human & Rousseau, R29,95)
Discovering our diverse national culture is becoming a desirable trend in South African children’s writing, and this novel – set in a traditional rural community – makes an appropriate, if conservative, contribution to a growing body of work.
Drawing on the African principle of “a person is a person through other people”, it introduces us to an innovative boy who begins to realise that no matter how inventive a plan for progress may be, customary attitudes towards property and conscience are more important in the long-term.
Resonant with the sounds of nature and rife with new terminology for children to look up and understand, the book turns its lead character Tuba Matibe into a friend we’d all like to know.
MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF THE WORLD: THE BRONZE CAULDRON by Geraldine McCaughrean (Orion, R143,95)
Wales, Mali, Australia, Palestine, Finland, India, Germany, Russia, Gabon, Greece and Rwanda are among the fascinating countries whose legends are reflected in this collectible book for all ages.
The author has done a remarkable job of retelling richly-detailed stories carried through the generations for children today, taking us right into cultures so far removed from our own that the people wrapped inside them might as well be from another planet.
The illustrations are lavish and the text is a thing of beauty to enjoy over and over again. A must-have for any home library.
CHILDREN’S ATLAS OF THE BIBLE by Henry Wansbrough (Harper Collins, R79,95)
This photographic account of journeys in the Bible from Abraham to St Paul is exactly the kind of colourful reference book that could entice reluctant young students of Christianity into finding out more about the religion of their parents.
It’s easy to use, studded with pictures, photographs, maps and diagrams, and it doesn’t assume that young readers already know the history of the intriguing world that forms the basis for a powerful religious document.
Well-marked to separate different eras from one another, the atlas provides surprising insight into the melding of ages from the Bronze Age of Ur and Mesopotamia to the Roman Age of St Paul who informed Jewish communities about the life of Jesus Christ.
Janet Smith was a co-winner, with Andrew Ntsele, of the Maskew Miller Longman Young Africa Award for their teen novel One Bounce
Meet Afgaddu the witch’s son, who slept in a white bed and never went hungry. Or drum in time to the Earth’s heartbeat and the Lone Man’s magic. Treat yourself to the sheer bliss of Biggest, a Japanese legend about a village whose love for Buddha was so enormous that their statue of him caught the sun’s light like the waves of the evening sea. And wander through the daily round of Judah Loew ben Bezabel who built a golem which went mad with joy.
Adding to the entertainment value of a tale well told, the writer has introduced different typefaces for certain pieces of dialogue, initiating an understanding of how writers play with words.
It’s also surprising because it doesn’t attempt to integrate South Africa’s socio-political scene into a fiction set in a future which no-one can predict.