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International Collection of Children’s and Adolescent Literature

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WOW is committed to creating an international network of people who share the vision of bringing books and children together, thereby opening windows on the world. We encourage thoughtful dialogue around international literature so that children can reflect on their own cultural experience and connect to the experience of others across the globe.

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International Collection of Children's and Adolescent Literature
College of Education
University of Arizona

1430 East Second Street
Tucson, AZ 85721
Phone: (520) 621-9340
email: wow@email.arizona.edu
Open Reading Hours: Monday through Friday – 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday – 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

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South Africa

Materials from South Africa

Journey to Jo’burg: A South African Story

When their baby sister becomes dangerously ill, thirteen-year-old Naledi and her younger brother make a journey of over 300 kilometers from their village to Johannesburg, where their mother works as a maid for a white family.

Published: 1988,
Tags: Apartheid
Categories: AfricaAfrica, FictionAfrica, Fiction, Intermediate (ages 9-14)Africa, Fiction, Intermediate (ages 9-14), South Africa

1 Comment

Chain Of Fire

When the villagers of Bophelong are forced to leave their homes, Naledi and her younger brother join in a school demonstration and learn that the South African government treats even children who dissent with brutality. Sequel to Journey to Jo’burg.

Published: 1989, HarperCollins Publishers
Tags: Children, Government, Villages
Categories: AfricaAfrica, FictionAfrica, Fiction, Intermediate (ages 9-14)Africa, Fiction, Intermediate (ages 9-14), South Africa

1 Comment

Somewhere in Africa

Ashraf, a South African boy who lives in a big city, dreams of the African wild.

Published: 1997,
Tags: city life, exploration, wildlife
Categories: AfricaAfrica, FictionAfrica, Fiction, Picture BookAfrica, Fiction, Picture Book, Primary (ages 6-9)Africa, Fiction, Picture Book, Primary (ages 6-9), South Africa

Jamela’s Dress

Jamela gets in trouble when she takes the expensive material intended for a new dress for Mama, parades it in the street, and allows it to become dirty and torn.

Published: 1999,
Tags: Family, Trouble
Categories: AfricaAfrica, Picture BookAfrica, Picture Book, Primary (ages 6-9)Africa, Picture Book, Primary (ages 6-9), Realistic FictionAfrica, Picture Book, Primary (ages 6-9), Realistic Fiction, South Africa

What’s Cooking, Jamela?

Jamela is responsible for fattening up the chicken intended for Christmas dinner, but instead she gives it a name and makes it her friend.

Published: 2001, Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Tags: celebration, chicken, Christmas, Friend, Resistance
Categories: AfricaAfrica, Picture BookAfrica, Picture Book, Primary (ages 6-9)Africa, Picture Book, Primary (ages 6-9), Realistic FictionAfrica, Picture Book, Primary (ages 6-9), Realistic Fiction, South Africa

Where’s Jamela?

When Mama gets a new job and a new house, everyone is excited about moving except Jamela who likes her old house just fine.

Published: 2004,
Tags: Family, moving
Categories: AfricaAfrica, Picture BookAfrica, Picture Book, Primary (ages 6-9)Africa, Picture Book, Primary (ages 6-9), Realistic FictionAfrica, Picture Book, Primary (ages 6-9), Realistic Fiction, South Africa

Zulu Dog

In post-apartheid South Africa, a Zulu boy keeps secrets from his family as he cares for an injured dog and befriends the daughter of a white farmer.

Published: 2002,
Tags: Concentration camps, Holocaust survivors, World War II
Categories: AfricaAfrica, FictionAfrica, Fiction, Intermediate (ages 9-14)Africa, Fiction, Intermediate (ages 9-14), South Africa

Desert December

A South African boy makes a long journey through the desert to join his parents in a mining village, reaching them on Christmas Day and seeing his new baby sister.

Published: 1992,
Tags: baby, Christmas, Gift, Travel
Categories: AfricaAfrica, Picture BookAfrica, Picture Book, Primary (ages 6-9)Africa, Picture Book, Primary (ages 6-9), Realistic FictionAfrica, Picture Book, Primary (ages 6-9), Realistic Fiction, South Africa

All the Magic in the World

The children who play in the street laugh at the odd-job man Joseph for picking up string and other junk, until he shows them that magic can be found in even the simplest of things.

Published: 1993,
Tags: perceptions
Categories: AfricaAfrica, Picture BookAfrica, Picture Book, Primary (ages 6-9)Africa, Picture Book, Primary (ages 6-9), Realistic FictionAfrica, Picture Book, Primary (ages 6-9), Realistic Fiction, South Africa

The Middle Of Somewhere: A Story Of South Africa

Nine-year-old Rebecca and her family, living in a South African village for black people, are threatened with forced removal to a bleak, distant development, to make room for a new suburb for whites.

Published: 1990,
Tags: Childhood
Categories: AfricaAfrica, FictionAfrica, Fiction, Intermediate (ages 9-14)Africa, Fiction, Intermediate (ages 9-14), South Africa

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