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 et al. (review)

As the editors of this collection of essays state in their preface, “South African children’s and youth literature has a long history…. South Africa is the most prolific publisher of children’s books in Africa [and] produces arguably the highest quality of literature from the continent.” Nevertheless, outside of South Africa, many South African books are not as well-known as they deserve to be. Barbara Lehman, Jay Heale, and their co-editors strive to counter this problem by presenting the portraits of twenty-nine contemporary English and Afrikaans speaking authors and illustrators in their essays.

Using 1994, the year of the first democratic elections after the end of Apartheid, as their starting point, the editors divide the book into three chronological parts. General introductions, including some historical background information, lead into each of these three sections. The first part, headed “Transition Movers,” showcases eleven authors and illustrators; among them are Lesley Beake, Niki Daly, Sindiwe Magona, and Chris van Wyk. All of them had already gained a high reputation for their work before 1994 (i.e., during a period when the South African children’s literature scene was still dominated by white authors writing in English) and continued to write and illustrate after the big change, helping “South African children’s literature move several steps further.” Part two, called “Writers and Artists of the New South Africa,” focuses on fifteen creators—such as Piet Grobler, Gcina Mhlope, Martie Preller, and Jenny Robson—whose output primarily emerged after the end of Apartheid and is characterized by a reflection of more diverse cultures, stories, and settings. In the final part, “Noteworthy New Talent,” the editors present three promising new writers—Kagiso Lesego Molope, Nokuthula K. Msimang, and Sally Partridge—whose books have already garnered various awards. What these young authors have in common is that their books focus on current issues that play an important role in many teenagers’ lives and that they “are pushing the boundaries of literature for South African adolescents today.”

Geared towards both an academic readership and the general reading public and written by a team of seventeen authors from South Africa and the U.S., the essays naturally vary in length and method of approach. While some place more emphasis on the authors’ and illustrators’ biography and investigate how the personal background is mirrored in the work they produced, others offer short analyses of particular books or look at the creative output from a thematic angle. The essays do not only offer an insight into the lives and works of both internationally renowned and lesser-known children’s book creators, they also manage to contextualize their output by adding important background information about the recent history of South Africa and pointing out its influence in the works analyzed. Therefore, the book is an enjoyable read that serves as a first introduction to the best South African authors and illustrators for young people; at the same time, it also provides a sound basis for further academic research.