My wish is finally coming true: a book event that is not virtual! Of course I understand the necessity of having had all our events online and I’m so grateful for that. However, I also miss people so, please join Ethnikids along with myself and Professor Claudine Storbeck as we read Mpumi and Jabu’s Magical Day this Sunday, 13 December 2020 at the Nirox Sculpture Park. It is a gorgeous open air setting that allows for keeping our social distance and adhering to all pandemic protocols. Please purchase your tickets here and note that all food and drinks must be purchased at the venue. More information is available here. I am so excited to see you there!
New book alert! Grow To Be Great: Awesome African Achievers by Dr Judy Dlamini and I, is finally here! First of all, do you know how cool it is to collaborate on writing a book with your university’s chancellor? It’s amazing! I actually “met” her in 2019, when she was one of the invited guests for the Zanele Mbeki Fellowship one morning and we all sat in a circle and engaged with a selection of phenomenal women leaders about their life’s work. Little did I know that we would actually meet properly when she was searching for a young children’s book author to collaborate with as she sought to convert her books, Equal but Different and The Other Story into a singular book for younger readers. Even better, we met and discussed this collaboration for the first time only a few weeks before she capped me at my Master’s graduation ceremony in December 2019. If you look at the photo, you’ll see me beaming because I held her hand and she smiled and said, “Wow, you’re wearing a suit. You look beautiful.” I was especially proud of my look that day because I really wore a tailored suit with some Nike Cortez the day I became an Anthropologist.
An Anthropologist; a Master, as capped by Chancellor of the University of Witwatersrand, Dr Judy Dlamini.
Working with Mam’ Judy has been such an enriching experience. Not only was I able to gain some insight into her life journey, because she also features as a character in the book, I was also able to experience excellence and discipline up close in a way that is rarely available to me since I usually work alone across all of my various academic and bookish projects. It also blows my mind that she’s a whole medical doctor, academic doctor, businesswoman who also owns her own publishing house, mother, grandmother and a whole chancellor of the best university in Africa! (I know you know that I don’t care about the official stats. Haha!)
Can you spot your faves?
Grow To Be Great: Awesome African Achievers is published by Dr Dlamini and her husband, Sizwe Nxasana’s publishing house, Sifiso Publishers. It is a gift for African children; to inspire them to know that they are the continuation of really incredible legacies and people who have worked tirelessly to fulfil their own aspirations as well as to contribute greatly to the communities around them, benefitting the continent as a whole. By capturing their stories, we hope that African children will see themselves reflected in these great leaders and know that they too are capable of so much more. Here is more about the book:
Co-authored by Dr. Judy Dlamini and Lebohang Masango, Grow to Be Great is an adaptation of Dr. Judy Dlamini’s two books, Equal but Different & The Other Story. It’s targeting young adults. It seeks to inform, empower and validate their dreams. There is a message from each of the 24 leaders covered in the book, from the President of the country, President Cyril Ramaphosa, to the Chairman of the Solidarity fund and Co-Founder of Women Investment Portfolio, Gloria Serobe, the only woman former Deputy President of the country current Executive Director of UN-Women, Dr Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka to the late Dr Richard Maponya; amongst others.
Currently available in English, isiZulu, Setswana, Sesotho, isiNdebele and Xitsonga. More translations coming soon!
There’s magic in the air
as Mpumi and Jabu play.
They sign and laugh,
as they become friends.
“Oh what fun!” they say.
The sequel to Mpumi’s Magic Beadsis here! The story follows the the adventure that unfolds when Mpumi, a hearing girl, and Jabu, a Deaf boy, meet for the first time. They learn that even though we are all different, we are also the same in many ways. We love playing and reading, we love smiling and helping our family and friends. Everything about us makes us special. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Hi Hopes, an early intervention partner for families of deaf and hard-of-hearing babies. About the co-author
Claudine Storbeck has a PhD in Education Linguistics and has been working in the field of Deaf Education and Deaf Studies for over 27 years. She is a fluent signer and was honoured to be the South African Sign Language (SASL) interpreter for the inaugurations of both Presidents Mandela and Mbeki. Claudine has over 150 academic presentations and publications in almost 20 countries and has recently starting publishing children’s literature. She was named a world specialist in Deaf Education by the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) and is the Director and Associate Professor of the Centre for Deaf Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand.
Would you look at that? I have been nominated as one of the 100 Most Influential Young South Africans for 2019! I spent some time reading through all of the profiles of the nominees and trust me, it is such an honour to be recognised among such hardworking individuals! So much of the work I do requires me to be alone and so it’s always wonderful to know that it resonates beyond my work space and the people I directly interact with while I do it. I think it’s really cool that I’m representing for the word workers, poets, imagination builders and children’s literacy advocates. And I always will.
Wow. Mpumi’s Magic Beads has been shortlisted for a South African Literary Award in the Children’s Literature category. Just the nomination alone is such a wonderful piece of recognition and I am honoured. My day has been made. A big congratulations to all of the nominees for this year. Let us all pray, hold thumbs and cross fingers for the 7th of November, which is four days after my birthday.
There is huge potential in South Africa to turn our literacy crisis around so that reading becomes a powerful tool, to tackle inequality and poverty. As Nelson Mandela said, ‘Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.’ While education may be the most powerful weapon, reading aloud and storytelling are integral building blocks in learning.Continue reading “#WorldReadAloudDay: I’m this year’s ambassador!”
The Great Cake Contest is a sweet little story about a little boy who loves cake and tries to bake the best cake for the contest, but he and all his friends have the same ideas! You can read more about it and download it for free:here.Continue reading “New Book Alert: The Great Cake Contest”
