Three Friends and a Taxi
The Missing Ball
The Cool Nguni
By Maryanne Bester, illustrated by Shayle Bester (Jacana)
My two-year-old son is a born-and- bred city slicker but every night just before bedtime he loves being transported to rural Africa by Maryanne Bester’s tales of rural life told through her Nguni cow characters and vividly brought to life by Shayle Bester’s illustrations.
His favourite is Three Friends and a Taxi, the story of why sheep never get out of the way of taxis, goats run away from them and dogs chase their wheels.
He is intrigued by the hyena taxi driver and has taken to pointing out taxi drivers on our trips around town, calling out “Look, momma. Hyena!” Early lessons in life —
He loves the taxi zipping through valleys and villages and over rivers before reaching that mystical place where he longs to go — the sea. It is a simple tale, but the characters and Shayle’s depictions of them have captured his heart.
The Cool Nguni also has a place of honour on his bookshelf. For a toddler who has just discovered the word “cool”, this is an ideal story.
Defining cool for a little man who expresses everything remotely exciting as “cool” is quite a challenge.
The Besters have a good stab. They profile cattle from around the world, which Little Nguni Calf thinks are mighty cool. But then his mom explains that his own Nguni heritage is really much cooler and he learns to appreciate his South Africanness. Deep lessons for a two-year-old, but a story that has captured his imagination.
Little Nguni Calf gets a name, Gaps, in The Missing Ball, when he and his cousin, Sugarbean, hunt for their ball through a rural village. My son had a ball searching for the lost ball, getting excited every time the two calves thought they had spotted theirs, only for it to be revealed to be something else entirely. With them he explored village life and learned about gogos, uncles and aunties.
Any child’s book may get a vote of confidence from adults but the ultimate thumbs-up has to come from the child himself. These three books won a resounding “cool” from the toddler involved. — Yolandi Groenewald
A Song for Jamela
Story and pictures by Niki Daly (Tafelberg)
Number five in the Jamela series from the doyen of South African children’s story writers and illustrators pays tribute to the late Brenda Fassie and “all Divine Divas of African song”. Jamela is hooked on the television show Afro-Idols so imagine her joy when finalist Miss Bambi Chaka Chaka walks into the hair salon in which she is helping out.
First causing a near disaster, then putting it right, Jamela is invited to be in the audience at the finals.
The illustrations are, as usual, marvellous and the book is available in English, Afrikaans, isiZulu and isiXhosa. — Pat Schwartz
<em>Wielie Wielie Walie by Louise Smit (Human & Rousseau)
I grew up with the Afrikaans kiddies’ television programme Wielie Walie.
Now, after all these years, it is back as Wielie Wielie Walie, both on DVD and as a book containing stories of all the much-loved characters picking up on their adventures, always with an educational spin.
For my two-year-old the lack of illustrations was disappointing, but he soon immersed himself in the stories. The magic that helped convert a previous generation is still there and, especially for very young children, Wielie Wielie Walie is still a lot of fun.
I, of course, remembered all those fun characters like long-lost friends and that might also be the brilliance of their comeback. Parents who enjoyed the TV series in their youth will be eager to buy the books and DVDs for their own offspring. — Yolandi Groenewald
Just Sisi by Wendy Hartmann, illustrated by Joan Rankin (Human& Rousseau)
These five stories about a cheerful rabbit, her parents, grandmother and assorted anthropomorphic friends are filled with affection and charm and should delight very young booklovers. Each is short enough to suit the tiniest attention span and the illustrations are sheer delight. — Pat Schwartz
1-2-3 with Flip, Flippie and Friends
A-B-C with Flip, Flippie and Friends
Shapes and Colours with Flip, Flippie and Friends
By Charlotte Ewins and Riaan Retief (Copycat Communications)
The concept of these little first-learner books is quite charming and small people will enjoy picking out details in the vibrant illustrations, counting scarves in 1-2-3, trying out their alphabet in A-B-C and distinguishing a square from a rectangle and blue from green in Shapes and Colours. I just wish the creators had not found it necessary to force the text into rhyme, which I found just too twee for words. — Pat Schwartz