- Paperback: 80 pages
- Publisher: HarperCollinsChildren'sBooks; New Ed edition (4 Mar 1996)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0006726933
- ISBN-13: 978-0006726937
- Product Dimensions: 19 x 12.6 x 0.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 146,220 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Synopsis
Frightened that their baby sister will die, 13-year-old Naledi and her younger brother Tiro run away from their grandmother to Johannesburg to find their mother. On their journey they encounter the realities of aparteid - the pass laws, Bantusans, racism and the breakdown of family life.
From the Back Cover
Paperback fiction: age 8-15 years
"…the more searing for its gentleness, that makes young readers ask questions we must learn to answer."
'The Guardian '
Frightened that their baby sister Dineo will die, thirteen-year-old Naledi and her younger brother Tiro run away to Johannesburg to find their mother, who works there as a maid. Their journey illustrates at every turn the grim realities of apartheid – the police, the pass laws, racism, the breaking up of families.
The opulence of the white "Madam's" house contrasts starkly with the reality that Naledi and Tiro face – that their baby sister is suffering from starvation, not an incurable disease. Their journey is also one of courage and of beginning to learn about the wider struggle for freedom. It is a story about keeping alive hope.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
28 of 28 people found the following review helpful
Having read "The Other Side of Truth" and "No Turning Back" I went on to read "Journey to Jo'Burgh." Like her other novels once you start reading it you cannot put it down. This is a very moving account of life for a typical black family living in the country in South Africa during the apartheid years.The baby gets a fever and the older sister and brother, realising the baby is very ill, set off on foot to find their mother in Jo'burgh over 300km away. What happens to them on the journey and subsequently makes a very gripping story. I could not read the book quickly enough as I became so concerned for the welfare of the children. It gives an excellent insight into what an apartheid meant and I would encourage any child as they become aware of human rights to read this. Any adult who like me was too young to realise what was happening in South Africa in the apartheid times needs to read it. I would like to visit South Africa now.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Originally written in 1985, this book was not historical fiction but a description of life as it was in South Africa at the time. The author wanted to teach young children about the unacceptable policy of Apartheit that separated Africans from Caucasians purely by colour.
The wealth was all in the hands of the 'Whites', while the labour was done by the 'Blacks' who worked long hours for little pay and lived under apalling conditions.
Naledi and her brother Tiro are just 13 and 9 when their baby sister Dineo falls seriously sick with fever and malnutrition. Their mother is working hundreds of miles away in Johannesbug but this does not deter these brave young children from deciding to make the journey to bring their mother back to save Dineo.
On the way they experience many of the realities of Apartheit that they had been shielded from in their small isolated village - the segregation by colour, the Pass Card that must be carried at all times and the poverty in the face of so much wealth. This is where the strength of this book lies; as a learning tool for today's children.
Probably best suited for 9 to 10 yr olds it provides plenty of opportunity for learning about this era in history and perhaps ensuring that such inhumanities are not repeated.
The wealth was all in the hands of the 'Whites', while the labour was done by the 'Blacks' who worked long hours for little pay and lived under apalling conditions.
Naledi and her brother Tiro are just 13 and 9 when their baby sister Dineo falls seriously sick with fever and malnutrition. Their mother is working hundreds of miles away in Johannesbug but this does not deter these brave young children from deciding to make the journey to bring their mother back to save Dineo.
On the way they experience many of the realities of Apartheit that they had been shielded from in their small isolated village - the segregation by colour, the Pass Card that must be carried at all times and the poverty in the face of so much wealth. This is where the strength of this book lies; as a learning tool for today's children.
Probably best suited for 9 to 10 yr olds it provides plenty of opportunity for learning about this era in history and perhaps ensuring that such inhumanities are not repeated.
This book is written for any audience young or old and is a great story that allows the reader to place themselves in a different country and life. This book allows for the reader to experience the hardship and struggle that exists in others lives that are simply taken for granted in modern Western society. A tale of strife and hardship where the strength of spirit can triumph.
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