African Children's Literature Research Articles

Multicultural South African Children's Literature: Reflections of a Changing Society

Twenty multicultural youth novels published in South Africa in English from 1994 to 1997 are analysed to determine how they reflect cultural values and social changes. This period is significant because for the first time a majority govemment is in power and 'apartheid' is being dismantled. The novel deal with topics such as integration in schools and communities, poverty, homelessness, drug and child abuse, crime and violence, illegal immigrants, sexual relationships and different cultural values. Works by African authors reflect township life and raise the issue of the often unquestioning acceptance of many Western cultural values by young Africans.

Africa: Possibilities and Challenges

Africa is considered to be the richest gathering of natural resources such as: oil, copper, diamond, bauxite, lithium, gold, hardwood forests and tropical fruits. Also, Africa owns the greatest spare of precious metals in the world and two thirds of the total of the unused farmlands in the whole world. These spares of the natural resources profoundly contribute in supporting the economics of the African countries and enhancing the opportunities of growth and supporting the development indicators of the developing continent. Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent and it is characterized by the cultural ideological and religious diversity. The challenges and the obstacles that face the continent are basically presented in: the problem of economic and social deterioration, the problem of administrative corruption and immigration of the competent persons. The problem of colonization with all of its negative effects that they left in many of the African countries that lead to the spread of the ethnic wars and armed conflicts and economic liability. At the beginning of the current millennium, the African union created continent space like the conglomerates of the other continents in Europe, Asia and America. Since Egypt took over the leadership of the African union in 2019 during the president Al-Sisi, the foreign investment directed to Africa has increased, Egypt was eager to activate the technical cooperation with the African countries through the pivotal role of the Egyptian agency of partnership for development, in fields such as health and high education as scholarships were provided for the students. The universities can make use of this by making common research projects to solve many problems of the continent. I mention from these problems what is related to the field of education and childhood such as: the phenomenon of child labor in Africa, the African children literature, the common African culture among the African countries and its effect on the upbringing patterns and the phenomenon of child recruitment in the armed conflicts and the African conflicts.

Literatura africana infanto-juvenil na escola básica (African children's literature in elementary school)

no Brasil, a populacao negra vive, desde a colonizacao, em situacao social desigual. Grupos de resistencia, ao longo da historia, exigiram mudancas e, como consequencia, o governo brasileiro viu-se pressionado a promulgar a lei 10.639/03, que instituiu a obrigatoriedade do ensino de historia e cultura africanas e afro-brasileiras. Assim, a literatura brasileira, componente curricular da area Linguagens e seus Codigos, ganha novos autores, contextualizados com os temas negros, o que incitou a pesquisa Literatura Africana Infanto-juvenil na Educacao Basica, no ano de 2017, apoiada pela Funadesp, pela compreensao da importância tomada pelos temas agora em foco. A investigacao teve o objetivo de conhecer as paixoes africanas por meio da leitura de uma poesia e um conto em pesquisa qualitativa, com a base teorica sob orientacao da Nova Retorica.

Paper call for a special feature on African children's literature in IRCL

Paper call for a special feature on African children's literature in IRCL

African Children's Literature, Spirituality, and Climate Change

AbstractAfrican children's literature is well placed to make an effective contribution to discussions on climate change. However, this literature is often marginalized within literary studies in particular and in society in general. This article examines the relevance of African children's literature in contributing to the response to climate change. Through an analysis of two selected texts, the article argues that African children's literature can equip children and adults to adopt practices that promote environmental sustainability and mitigate the impact of climate change. The first section gives the background, while the second concentrates on climate change and its impact on Africa. The third section is devoted to African traditional folklore and children's literature, considering how the two are deployed by society to teach children to respect the environment. The subsequent parts of the article examine the role played by spirituality in folktales, religion, and climate change, while the final section concludes the article.

Children's oral poetry: A reflection on the role of Imilolozelo (lullabies) as Art Performance in Zulu

Imilolozelo (lullabies) form part of Zulu children's poetry that is probably the most ancient form of African children's literature. It includes the poetry and folksongs of societies whose literature was transmitted orally. Like all folklore, children's oral poetry is an art performance and tradition transmitted from one's forefathers. Children's oral poetry is characterised by song, repetition, physical actions and gestures. The performance nature of imilolozelo can be likened to an informal school where, from infancy, a child slowly discovers her/his world and some aspects of all that is in it. On remarking about oral performance Okpewho points out that ‘There must be a certain appeal in not what the performer is saying but in the way it is said.. much of the appeal lies in the quality of the voice used and the skill with which the speaker manipulates the tones of the words involved.’ Zulu traditional oral poetry, like all African poetry, was not composed to be read silently or aloud; instead, it was always meant to be heard by the ear and its actions perceived and appreciated with the eyes. The oral element focuses on performance and sound whereas the written form is text-centred. The performance of imilolozelo or ‘cradle songs’, as Weinberg calls them, was intended not only to entertain children or while away time. They were composed also to teach and bring people together. The aim of this paper is to show that in ancient Zulu societies, the performance of imilolozelo as an oral art form was not only used to lull a child to sleep but it also also had other important roles to play in the upbringing, socialisation and development of a child.

The translation of cultural aspects in South African children's literature in Afrikaans and English: a micro-analysis

This paper explores the textual-linguistic norms evident in the translation of culturally specific material in a sample of translated South African children's books in Afrikaans and English, with a view to investigating the tensions between domestication and foreignisation, particularly as related to different types of books, such as primers, local picture books, and international picture books. A detailed qualitative textual analysis of micro-level translation choices relating to cultural orientation is presented, comparing the 21 translations in the sample with their source texts, and comparing subsamples of different types of books with one another. The analysis suggests the prevalence of hybrid translation strategies that orient translated texts in multiple cultural directions, but also indicates potentially significant differences in this regard between different types of books, with translations of international picture books tending towards greater use of domesticating strategies, despite their generally culturally generic background.

Editorial

Editorial Sylvia Vardell (bio) and Catherine Kurkjian (bio) Click for larger view View full resolution Dear Bookbird Readers, In this first issue of the new calendar year, we have assembled a collection of articles from the Netherlands, South Africa, Australia, Norway, the United States, New Zealand, and Japan. You'll find a common thread woven through the first five pieces which focus on encounters of literature about "the other" in the context of one's own cultural setting. The final two companion articles from New Zealand and Japan portray key ways in which libraries can invite children into a wide world of reading within their own particular settings. Helma van Lierop-Debrauwer's South Africa in Dutch children's literature, 1899-1901; The U-Huhu stories of Nynke van Hichtum analyzes a three-part series about a Zulu boy named U-Huhu written by Nynke van Hitchum, one of the best known Dutch authors from the first part of the twentieth century. In Debrauwer's close reading of these texts she articulates a depiction of "the other" rooted in exoticism and describes a view of Zulu culture presented to readers within van Hichtum's ideological framework and the context of the times. We traverse from the past into the present contemporary terrain of South African children's literature in Breaking new ground with Reviva Schermbrucker: South African writer and illustrator by Ruth Stone and Barbara Lehman. We learn about Schermbrucker's powerful impact on contemporary South African children's [End Page ii] literature in her landmark portrayals of either under-represented or non-represented identities. In particular, we discover that Schermbrucker was among the first to publish a book about a contemporary Black child with illustrations that reflect contemporary Black townships. How is literature by "the other" translated for targeted readers of another culture? Leah Gerber grapples with this issue in The proof is in the puddin': the German translation of Norman Lindsay's The Magic Pudding. Considered an Australian classic, The Magic Pudding was published before 1918, yet was first translated in 1992. Gerber's close analysis of the translation into German depicts a tightrope balancing act in which efforts are made to maintain both the cultural integrity and literary style of the work with a need to "domesticate" the text to make it more comprehensible to readers and to enhance its marketability. What kinds of cultural encounters can be found in contemporary Norwegian children's literature? Does Norwegian children's literature mirror a multicultural society? What is the impact of translations from other countries on Norwegian children's literature? These are the questions that Åse Marie Ommundsen asks in Childhood in a multicultural society? Globalization, childhood and cultural diversity in Norwegian children's literature. As Ommundsen explores these issues, she draws some provocative and interesting conclusions. Finally, the last of this quintet of articles focusing on encounters with "the other" is Christina Desai's The world as presented to U.S. children: Building bridges or confirming expectations? Desai questions whether or not the faith in the power of children's literature as a vehicle to promote understanding is well-founded. In her analysis of a sample of books from the American Library Association's bibliography, Growing up around the world: Books as passports to global understanding for children in the United States, she raises important issues and sheds light on this critical question. The final two companion pieces focus on the importance of school libraries. Wayne Mills provides a Kiwi perspective on school libraries offering a cogent rationale for the importance of the school library and identifying guidelines for successful contemporary school libraries and librarians. Moving from the general to the particular, Momo Yuriko profiles an innovative award-winning school library initiative. In keeping with Mills' discussion of key ingredients, Yuriko describes a welcoming child-centered emotional and physical environment at the Gurigura library at Keimei Elementary School in Japan. Unique to this project is the description of school-wide initiatives that promote curriculum development and community engagement to promote wide reading. This article is adapted from the English language supplement, HONTSUBA, to the new Japanese edition of Bookbird that appeared in March 2010, and is published by...

National Character in South African English Children's Literature (review)

Reviewed by: National Character in South African English Children's Literature Meena Khorana (bio) National Character in South African English Children's Literature. By Elwyn Jenkins. New York: Routledge, 2006. Elwyn Jenkins takes on the enormous task of examining the historical, cultural, and sociopolitical influences on the development of South African children's literature in English written from 1883 to 2004 and tracing its transformative role in shaping an emerging national consciousness. This vast material is organized into nine chapters, each featuring a specific topic or genre that is analyzed chronologically, with detailed plot summaries of significant works. Wherever pertinent, the trends in this evolving body of literature are compared to similar phases in Afrikaner, British, American, Canadian, and Australian children's literature. National Character in South African English Children's Literature begins with books set in the countryside and the efforts of the early writers to firmly ground their stories in their adopted country, transforming the unique Karoo and bushveld regions of South Africa "into a mystic homeland" (1). Jenkins argues that most fictional works had predictable episodic plots, lacked in-depth characterization, and were written in a banal style. The conclusion to this chapter emphasizes that after the 1950s, when the apartheid policy had become firmly entrenched and opposition to it had gained momentum, the settings of children's books shifted to the city. However, literature could no longer foster a love of homeland because of the political upheaval. It is only after the democratic elections in 1994 that urban settings became sites of transformation for youth. While no specific books about city life are mentioned here, readers are referred to the final chapter. This circular organization is typical of National Character; themes are often introduced or briefly discussed but considered in more depth in a future or previous chapter. Furthermore, organizing each chapter chronologically proves to be both the strength and weakness of the book. While each chapter provides a complete survey of a particular topic or genre, from the nineteenth to the twenty-first centuries, it also leads to some repetition, gaps, and uneven emphasis. For instance, chapter 2 gives a brief overview of the canon of important South African authors and books that embody national identity, including black authors Es'kia Mphahlele and Njabulo Ndebele, while three chapters (4, 5, and 6) focus on fantasy, folktales, and the various subgenres of imaginative literature. The latter discussion ranges from efforts to forge a national literature in the first half of the twentieth century, when writers "naturalized" British and American fairy and animal fantasies into a South African setting—frequently with factual errors—to stories of realistic talking animals with the victory of the National Party and formalization of apartheid, because they struck a patriotic chord during World War II. Jenkins points to the [End Page 399] equally strong tradition of appropriating and romanticizing San, Khoi, and Xhosa oral tales. While the early writers promoted colonialist discourse and exploited indigenous beliefs, he praises a few recent authors, such as Marguerite Poland and Cicely van Straten, for their thorough research and respect for the intrinsic value of traditional lore; Gcina Mhlophe, Dinah Mbanze, Bob Leshoai, and Nombulelo Makhuphula for their authentic voices in retelling African stories; and collections such as African Myths and Legends and Madiba Magic: Nelson Mandela's Favourite Stories. Jenkins sees folktales as the most national form of literature because they "can bridge the gap between black and white children" (98) and serve as a unifying force in the new South Africa. Perhaps the most satisfying approach to National Character is to read each chapter as an individual essay. For example, chapter 3 is an informative account of books that reflect changing attitudes toward the construction of nature, from "colonial and imperialistic assumptions of power" (44) and the "right" to hunt wild animals and "strip colonized lands of their natural assets" (44); to books about natural history and domestication of the land in the twentieth century, when farms symbolized the "borderline between civilization" and the "untamed wilderness" (47); to the modern focus on ecological issues, harmony between humans and nature, and the African roots of conservation. Likewise, chapter 7 examines representations of the San, from...

Making Visible the Invisible Ideologies of Race

Reading Race: Aboriginality in Australian Children's Literature, by Clare Bradford. Melbourne: Melbourne UP, 2001. Apartheid and Racism in South African Children's Literature, 1985–1995, by Donnarae MacCann and Yulisa Amadu Maddy. New York: Routledge, 2001. Those interested in ethnic as well as international literature will find both Clare Bradford's Reading Race (winner of the 2003 Children's Literature Association Book Award) and Donnarae MacCann and Yulisa Amada Maddy's Apartheid and Racism worth reading. Although obviously focused on the children's literature of different locations, Bradford and MacCann and Maddy find common ground in discussing the way the literature of Australia and South Africa, respectively, impacts young readers—particularly from the respective countries— and imparts problematic, often stereotypical depictions of Australian Aboriginal and South African Black peoples. Bradford begins by indicating her intention of interrogating the "invisible" ideologies that affect child readers, often inculcating racist beliefs despite their being disguised in seemingly neutral or even positive literature. Bradford's study covers the history of Australian children's literature—in particular the illustrations and language found in school texts required from 1900 to 1960; religious discourses of predominantly late twentieth-century texts; the intersection of gender and race; oral Aboriginal stories reproduced as written texts; contemporary dilemmas; the use of indigenous language(s) to represent Aboriginal culture; and cross-cultural stories consisting of retellings of traditional stories directed to a mixed audience, autobiographies, and historical and biographical narratives. The final chapter has at its base a worthwhile concept in which Bradford seeks to analyze Australian texts alongside texts from other former British settler colonies, such as New Zealand, Canada, and the United States. Yet the connection she sees between the various texts in this chapter is not clear. Bradford has an impressive knowledge of Australian children's literature in various genres and from various time periods. A reader [End Page 274] interested in exploring Australian children's literature will find many titles with which to begin such a study in Reading Race. Yet Bradford goes beyond a simple listing of what exists in the way of Australian children's literature, as she queries the texts, exploring the subtle yet pervasive racist mindset that underlies much of the literature available for children in Australia. She argues that even though some of the dated texts may represent a mindset of a particular period in time, we must still question the way these texts encode a vision of the Aboriginal peoples of Australia. She analyzes more than the language, recognizing that simply cleaning up offensive language will not eliminate the structure and semantics that continue to emphasize a colonial mindset. The chapter on gender and race, "Intersecting Discourses: Gender and Race in Children's Books," is fascinating, in part because of the similarities to discussions of African American and white conflicts in the United States. Much in the way the fear of miscegenation and the sexuality of the African American drove racist mindsets in the United States in the nineteenth century, so do white Australians see Aboriginal sexuality as a threat to the white culture. Bradford contrasts the more typical descriptions of white boys (adventurous, aspiring to marriage) to those of aboriginal boys (desexualized or infantilized). She also discusses the way texts authored by women treat race and gender compared to those authored by men. In the chapter titled "Indigenous Voices in Children's Literature," Bradford begins by discussing the "ownership" of stories, introducing the conflict of an outsider telling an Aboriginal story. This chapter demonstrates how conflicts of indigenous literature in Australia parallel those of ethnic Americans in the United States: capturing another language while writing in the dominant culture's language; maintaining a sense of orality in a written text; and determining whether a dominant culture's mindset is implicitly affecting the way a story is retold. Bradford also has a very interesting discussion of Aboriginal dialect and grammar, and how it has been misrepresented by the critics, in the chapter titled "White...

Using African Children's Literature in Elementary General Music Classes

Using African Children's Literature in Elementary General Music Classes

African children's literature: a scholar's guide

African children's books remain unparalleled in their ability to nurture the imagination and to provide relevant instruction and delight to the African child. Despite this truth, little research has been done on African literature, its nature, form and source of materials. This paper provides a selected check list of words by African children's literature s: Aardema, Appiah, Arnott, Asare, Kimenye, Meniru, Mollel, Odaga and Onadipe. It will serve as a useful starting point to scholars interested in studying and doing research on African children's literature. (University of Dar es Salaam Library Journal: 2003 5(1): 67-79)

Apartheid and racism in South African children's literature, 1985-1995

Preface Introduction Part I: Background Chapter I: Elements of Apartheid: Science, Theology, Government and Extra-Constitutional Government (The Broederbond) Chapter II: Gatekeepers and Literary Education Part II: Novels About Contemporary South Africa Chapter III: Civil Disobedience and Urban Conflict: The Apartheid Perspective in Novels Chapter IV: Runaways, Forced Removals, Population Control Chapter V: The First Democratic Election: Right-Wing Fears in Post-Election Fiction Chapter VI: Interracial Friendship: Sacrificial Blacks, Reformed Whites Chapter VII: Interracial Romance: Scientific Racism Persists Chapter VIII: Stories of the Supernatural: Misreading African Tradition Part III: Historical Novels Chapter IX: The Trekking Boers: Land-Grabbing in Historical Literature Chapter X: Tales of Conquest and Religious Conversion Conclusion: Is this Going to be a Democratic Society or Not? Epilogue Selected Bibliography Index