Het werk van Beverley Naidoo is diep geworteld in haar opvoeding in het Zuid-Afrika van de apartheid en haar daaropvolgende ballingschap. Haar schrijven verkent vaak thema's als rechtvaardigheid, verzet en de blijvende menselijke geest in het aangezicht van onderdrukking. Door haar krachtige verhalen werpt ze een licht op de complexiteit van maatschappelijke onrechtvaardigheid en de moed die nodig is om deze aan te vechten. Naidoo's proza brengt de ervaringen tot leven van degenen die vechten voor een betere wereld.
Two years after their flight from Nigeria, 14-yr-old Sade, her younger brother Femi and her father are living in a council flat in London, waiting for their claim for asylum to be approved. Sade is upset when Femi is drawn into a violent possibly drug-dealing gang, and even more upset when their father doesn't seem to notice.
Set in apartheid-era South Africa, the story explores the government's ethnic cleansing policy, which involved forcibly relocating people from their homes to designated 'homelands'.
Through original autobiographical accounts, children from various countries share their poignant experiences of being forced to flee their homes as refugees. This collection offers a powerful glimpse into their lives, highlighting their resilience and hope amid adversity. Accompanied by an 8-page photo insert and maps, it provides a visual context to their stories, making the realities of displacement more relatable and impactful for readers.
Beautifully retold by the award-winning author Beverley Naidoo, this earliest-known version of Cinderella is brought to life for the modern-day reader. Rhodopis is a Greek girl who is sold into slavery by bandits and taken to Egypt. Along the way she becomes friends with the storyteller Aesop and a host of playful animals. Her master gives her a pair of beautiful rose-red slippers, making three other servants jealous. But when Horus, the falcon, sweeps in to steal her slipper, Rhodopis has little idea that this act will lead her to the King of Egypt. The first in our 'One Story, Many Voices' series, this ancient story of Cinderella finds its echo in fairy tales all over the world.
The book captures the resilience and determination of youth in the face of adversity. It explores themes of empowerment, unity, and the unwavering spirit of the younger generation as they confront challenges and strive for change. Through evocative narratives and compelling characters, it emphasizes the strength found in solidarity and the belief that hope and action can lead to a brighter future. The message is clear: the youth will rise, unyielding and unbroken.
Seven stories, spanning the time period from 1948 to 2000, chronicle the experiences of young people from different races and ethnic groups as they try to cope with the restrictions placed on their lives by South Africa's apartheid laws
After the murder of their mother, twelve-year-old Sade and her younger brother are smuggled out of Nigeria by their journalist father to escape the corrupt military government and growing violence. They are sent to their uncle in London, but when they arrive, he is missing and they are abandoned, passed between foster homes. Their father escapes to England to find them -- but he will be sent back to Nigeria unless Sade can find a way to tell the world what happened to her family.A Silver Medal winner of England's Smarties Book Prize, Beverly Naidoo's new novel explores the issues of family, exile, and freedom wtih eloquence and stunning realism.
Escaping from his violent step-father, 12-year-old Sipho heads for Johannesburg, where he has heard that gangs of children live on the streets. Surviving hunger and bitter-cold winter nights is hard--but learning who to trust in the "new" South Africa proves even more difficult.
If only Mma was here, Naledi wished over and over. . . Mma lives and works in Johannesburg, far from the village thirteen-year-old Naledi and her younger brother, Tiro, call home. When their baby sister suddenly becomes very sick, Naledi and Tiro know, deep down, that only one person can save her. Bravely, alone, they set off on a journey to find Mma and bring her back. It isn't until they reach the city that they come to understand the dangers of their country, and the painful struggle for freedom and dignity that is taking place all around them.
These 16 tales, by both new and internationally known writers, reveal the rich diversity of story writing in English today. They offer a variety of forms, settings, contexts, characters, themes and language in stories that are both accessible and challenging.