Today’s Literacy Day celebration at Thorntree Preparatory School was a huge success!
Although the ability to read and write is something we take for granted, the reality is that around one billion people across the world cannot read, do not have access to education and are unable to pursue college studies. South Africa’s literacy rate is amongst the highest on the continent at 94%, but this still means that more than 3.3 million people in the country are illiterate.
We celebrated children’s right to learn to read and write today. Assisting someone to become literate is the most precious gift you could possibly give. Our Kids’ Book Club was established more than two years ago with the objective to encourage and inspire children to read and enhance their own literacy, and to reach out to others to help them better theirs as well.
In connection with this, we had some brilliant authors joining us today, the first of which was Niki Daly, a South African author-illustrator, who told us more about himself and what it entails writing and illustrating children’s books. We had to engage in an online session via Discord, but it felt like Mr. Daly was right there in the room with us! The upper primary kids had a chance to ask him their own questions, and Mr. Daly answered in such a delightful way! – so much so that the kids were inspired to look into writing/illustrating as a career – they truly enjoyed the session and felt satisfied with his answers.
Jacqui Shepherd read some of her brilliant new stories to the smaller kids, and they enjoyed it just as much to listen to her.
Jacqui Shepherd
Jacqui van der Merwe (Shepherd) is a South African author of children’s books. She grew up travelling abroad in South Africa as well as Swaziland.
Jacqui started writing when her children were small. Because their ages are so very close to one another, she was presented with numerous challenges during their formative years, one of which was never having a spare hand to hold a book. This resulted in her making up her own stories to keep the kids entertained. In order to remember the stories, she wrote them down. Four of the stories in her first set she wrote for each of her children, who loved having their own special story.
Over the years her family grew and she was blessed with stepchildren. Years later when they all left the nest, she started writing again, and her books have been published along with several new ones.
Animal Adventures (her first set) is a set of 10 beautifully illustrated books, each a story with a moral, so that children can learn valuable lessons while enjoying the stories. Jacqui is a firm believer in stories with morals, and as a mother found it a wonderful educational tool.
Jacqui credits her father for her storytelling talent, who himself was a very avid storyteller, and publishes her books under her maiden name in remembrance of him. And her inspiration she accredits to her children.
Jacqui lives in our own sunny Mokopane with her husband Stephan.
Read more about some of her books here.
Niki Daly
Author-illustrator Niki Daly resides in Kleinmond in the Western Cape. Niki started out in his young life travelling to London in order to pursue a career in singing and song writing, but his plans were changed and he ended up working as a commercial artist, and that eventually led to illustration for children’s books.
After he returned to South Africa years later, he produced several traditional books for the very young, which reflected his stance that people are all equal.
Many of his books have South African motifs, with South African scenes and themes. For example, in the award-winning Not So Fast, Songololo, young Songololo guides his grandmother on and off the bus as they go to town to buy the boy some new shoes; in Papa Lucky’s Shadow, Papa Lucky takes his love of dancing onto the street to earn some extra money, and shows why he was a dancing champion in his younger days – much to the delight of his grand-daughter; And set in the wheat lands of the Cape, All the Magic in the World tells of the games of a group of farm laborers’ children.
Niki has a wonderful insight into the world of a child, and writes from a child’s perspective. His books celebrate children’s imaginative powers and their everyday lives.
Niki’s books are published locally and abroad, and are translated into many different languages. He has received many awards for his work, including the US Parent’s Choice Award for his book Not so fast Songololo. Once Upon a Time was an Honor Winner at the US Children’s Africana Book Awards, and Jamela’s Dress was chosen by the ALA as a Notable Children’s Book and by Booklist as one of the Top Ten African American Picture Books of 2000.
Niki’s picture books range from the sublime to the silly, and in between they subtly challenge social prejudices without being didactic.
Niki and his wife Jude have written some books together as well, where one might write the story and the other illustrate! These books include Thank You, Jackson, and Seb and Hamish.
Nal’ibali (isiXhosa for “here’s the story”) is a national reading-for-enjoyment campaign to spark children’s potential through storytelling and reading. In 2017 Nal’ibali commissioned Niki Daly to write its special World Read Aloud Day-story, titled, ‘The Best Sound in the World’. The story has been translated into South Africa’s 11 official languages. Illustrated by Rico.
For you who missed it, you can watch this video clip:
What a lovely day!
