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Their mother works far away in Johannesburg and their father died from a disease caught in the mines. When their baby sister suddenly becomes very sick, Naledi and Tiro know, deep down, that only one person can save her. Originally banned upon its publication by South Africa’s apartheid government, Beverley Naidoo’s novel still resonates with its universal story of love, commitment and the flowering of the human spirit. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (French former tennis player) has no apparent relation to South Africa (I think I assumed he had).
It is a simple story line that has potential to open many discussions and topics for children to further explore in the classroom.For example, at the very beginning of the story, Naledi and Tiro decide that because they would get in trouble for asking for money to pay for a telegram, they should walk to Johannesburg, a city over 300 kilometers away. Roger Federer has some connections with the country (wiki: his mother is from there); Nelson Mandela; Charlize Theron; 2010 FIFA World Cup (vuvuzela. The opulent house of the white “Madam’s” for whom their mother works is a stark contrast with their own appalling reality and the realisation that their baby sister is dying from starvation not an incurable disease. Reading the class reader for year 6, this is a good book to start the conversation on what segregation is and to help kids to be deeper thinkers - i think the teacher says for them to be introspective. The author Beverley Naidoo has an interesting life story: born into a white family in South Africa, she took part in the anti-apartheid movement as a student, was jailed for 8 weeks, then left the country for the UK.
Book reviews cover the content, themes and worldviews of fiction books, not their literary merit, and equip parents to decide whether a book is appropriate for their children. The physical journey is symbolic of their awakening to the wider realities of apartheid; they face danger and experience prejudice, but also meet kind strangers who help to keep them safe and tell them stories about the uprising of students in Soweto. Certain that their sister needs a doctor, they decide to disobey their grandmother’s wishes and leave their small town to journey to Johannesburg where their mother works as a servant to get her help. So yes, first and foremost Naidoo's story for Journey to Jo'burg (young middle grade and in my opinion textually suitable for readers from about the age of eight to ten or eleven) presents a basic but also intensely realistic introduction to South Africa and its horrid, inhumane and racist police of Apartheid, of segregation, showing clearly, simply and without graphic violence (although the latter is often alluded to and briefly pointed out) the horror, the all encompassing injustice of the latter and South Africa’s emerging fight for racial equality (and that not all Black South Africans are following the dictatorial rules of the Afrikaners' elitist government). What makes this book an international piece of literature is that it is about another country, South Africa, written and published in English.Naledi had never thought about it before tonight, but never, never, had she written about wanting to be…say, a doctor.
And on their journey to Johannesburg, Naledi and Tiro are shown by Beverley Naido as making many unexpected friends out of strangers and who all help them not only with their travels but to also stay out of reach of the police, sometimes perhaps a bit too easily and a bit too quickly, but well, considering the intended age age group for Journey to Jo'burg this does not really all that much bother me, as indeed, and much importantly, much appreciatively, Naidoo has Naledi and Tiro soon learning that in Apartheid-infested South Africa, as Black South Africans, they do not have a right to get on the bus or walk about freely without a pass, and they do not even have a right to their own mother (who works as a maid, as a servant to an arrogant and ignorant White family in Johannesburg). I think it is a great read for a KS2 class and there are many activities in which it can be used throughout literacy lessons such as looking at characters in depth, retelling a story from a character's point of view, play scripts and report writing. It might be hard, at first, for them to keep the characters straight, since I even struggled with that as an adult.The book is set in the time of the Apartheid in South Africa and goes through the different things which are different today for black people. They discover it is not a simple journey as they encounter some of the dangers living in their apartheid but meeting some friendly people along the way help them to reach their mother.
Grace helps them find their mother’s workplace and offers them a place to spend the night in Soweto. When they come to another village, they walk quickly so as to not attract the attention of the police because policemen in this area are often corrupt.
Growing awareness of the sufferings of South Africa’s black children brings renewed point to Beverley Naidoo’s Journey to Joburg, a story for young readers, the more searing for its gentleness, that makes them ask questions we must learn to answer. It is a really simple and heartfelt story that contains powerful subject matter for children to explore and discuss in the classroom. But it's worth all the extra work because the story has so much depth and complexity and kids will enjoy learning and talking about this.
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