Creating Books for the Young in the New South Africa: Essays on Authors and Illustrators of Children’s and Young Adult Literature ed. by Barbara A. Lehman etal. (review)

This is an ambitious collection of 29 essays, each profiling a particular author or illustrator. Its broad scope signals that it is primarily intended as a resource for teachers, librarians, and scholars. Indeed, the preface confirms this and states that the aim was to raise awareness about South African children’s literature around the world in the hope that it would be used more widely. The authors and illustrators were selected based on three criteria: their contribution to post-apartheid children’s literature, the availability of the works in English, and their ability to “reflect the South African context” (7). The contributors to the volume, primarily from South Africa, but also from the US, were selected for their expertise in the field and include a number of the relatively few writers and academics actively researching South African children’s and youth literature. The collection is divided into three sections: first, authors and illustrators working prior to 1994 but active in the new South Africa; second, those who achieved recognition largely after 1994; and, finally, a short section on newcomers to the field. Many of the well-known South African children’s writers are found here—including Lesley Beake, Dianne Case, and Jenny Robson—although, inevitably, many names are absent. A particularly attractive aspect of the book is the inclusion of profiles of eight illustrators—such as Piet Grobler, Niki Daly and Joan Rankin—whose work is often neglected in academic research.

The large number of contributors—there are 17 of them—results in a wide range of approaches and styles, which the editors regard as one of the strengths of the book, signifying a diversity of views. This is certainly reflected in the essays, although the unusual practice of some contributors using an author’s first name rather than surname is, for me at least, rather inappropriate in a scholarly work. Further, no doubt for reasons of space, several of the contributors include no, or very few, references to other research, which may lessen the academic impact of the collection. Related to lack of space, one of the risks of such a collection is the inevitable restriction on the length of the essays, potentially resulting in a degree of superficiality and a lack of critical depth. Fewer contributions, however, would have resulted in a distorted view of the literature, reducing the book’s value as a useful resource. An overall balance appears to have been achieved and several of the contributions succeed in balancing informative content with critical analysis and opinion.

In the first section, Maritha Snyman’s excellent essay on Marita van der Vyver provides a critique of the main themes of van der Vyver’s works and an appreciation of the high caliber of her writing, focusing on her reputation as a feminist writer (84). Also a prolific translator of fairy tales into Afrikaans, van der Vyver is quoted as saying that she is fascinated by fairy tales because of “the possibility of transformation” that they bring (87). Evidence for this lies in her young adult novel, The Hidden Life of Hanna Why (2002), which has been interpreted as a modern fairy tale in which Hanna experiences both transformation and growing maturity through a process of departure, isolation, and victory over the villain. Snyman’s essay whets the appetite to such an extent that readers will be clamoring for more of van der Vyver’s works to be made available in English.

Jay Heale’s essay on Chris van Wyk makes a significant contribution, especially as publication came only shortly before van Wyk’s death in October 2014, representing a huge loss to the South African literary scene. Heale highlights the interrelationship between van Wyk’s own life as an acknowledged...