×

We've got news for you.

Register on SowetanLIVE at no cost to receive newsletters, read exclusive articles & more.
Register now

What little folk think about great Madiba

THERE can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children.

Title: The Children's Mandela

Author: Tyne Doyle

Publisher: Future by design

This is but one of a myriad of Nelson Mandela's quotes about children, the little people who he loves with all his heart.

His love for tiny tots has been mirrored in such endeavours as the special fund set up in his name for children and the warmth with which he receives them whenever they visit him.

This offering comes hot on the heels of Conversations with Myself, which has been published in no less than 20 languages across the globe.

The innocence of children remains the best tonic for a troubled soul and when it combines with such a worthy cause as paying tribute to Madiba, the end result is a must-have coffee table book like this.

Children of South Africa respond to 25 questions posed to them about the affable great-grandfather they would all love to lay claim to and The Children's Mandela is a compilation of the best of 40000 of these answers.

As only 6, 7 and 8-year-old children know how, their straight-from-the-heart responses are a source of great amusement to the reading adult.

The questions vary from: What did he do on Robben Island? What makes him really angry? Where does he get his clothes? How did he become president of South Africa?

Shana, 7, responds thus to the question: What was he like when he was your age?

"He was an African."

To the same question, 7- year-old Nyiko says: "He didn't have bodyguards."

In 245 glossy pages of honest wit and drawings, this book is for every family that places great value in not just seeing its children, but also hearing them.

Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.

Speech Bubbles

Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.