After asking for a selection of recommended books to read about or by South Africans, my sister-in-law asked me if i could do the same thing for children. Which i did. And wow, did you all respond… i’m not sure all of these fit into the South African/African ask but a lot of them do and this just seems to be a list of super amazing books for young ones:

Megan Furniss: Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 tales of Extraordinary Women by Elena Favilli

Simone Cheney:  How many ways can you say hello? By Refiloe Moahloli

Jess Basson: Jasper: My First Rhyme-Time Wordbook by Yami Yokuqala

African Nursery Rhymes [popular rhymes for South African children reworked and illustrated by Liz Mills]

All Kinds of Feelings – a Lift-The-Flap book [illustrated by Emma Brownjohn]

Eric the boy who lost his gravity – by Jenni Desmond

Off to market – Elizabeth Dale, Erika Pal

The Barefoot Book of Heroines – great women from many times and places [written and illustrated by Rebecca Hazell]

Antjie Krog does a beautiful book of poems on Fynbos Fairies. Really beautiful illustrations!

Emma Cocklin: Lazy Lion – Mwenye Hadithi and Adrienna Kennaway

Debbie Hutton: Two of my favourites are “Handa’s Hen” and “Senzeni’s Surprise” not specifically South African but African. Also Paddy Bouma has some nice ones, “Gideons Game” is one that comes to mind.

I teach 4 – 5 yr olds and they always love this one: Ouma Ruby’s Secret – Chris Van Wyk, Illustrated by Anneliese Volgt-Peters

I haven’t read this one but it looks great. Popped up when I was searching Paddy Bouma. The Best Meal Ever by Sindiwe Magona, with illustrations by Paddy Bouma

This one is lovely too. The Lemon Tree written by a friend of mine Katherine Graham and Wendy Paterson

Ashley Visagie: It’s not South African but I think you will like it – “Those Shoes” – Maribeth Boelts, illustrated by Norah Z. Jones

Crystal Warren: Niki Daly has a delightful series about a little girl, Jamela. Jamela’s Dress is the first, but they don’t need to be read in sequence. All his books are gorgeous. Hi, Zoleka by Gcina Mhlhope is one of my favourites. She has many other lovely books.

Some fun retelling of European folktales in a local context are Makwelane and the Crocodile by Maria Hendriks , Pretty Salma by Niki Daly (both redoing Little Red Riding Hood) and Refliwe by Zukiswa Wanner (Rapunzel)

Princess Talia and the Dragon by Helen Brain has the princess saving the kingdom from the dragon. A little more text heavy but still suitable for little ones.

Jo Holroyd: Anything by Gcina Mhlophe. She’s amazing. An African ABC is also great. Anything from the Sasol My first range.
Amazing South Africa

Janine Nyakurwa Roberts: Not so fast Songololo, Pretty Salma, Zanzibar Road, A song for Jamela – story and pictures by Nicky Daly, The Long Trousers by Maryanne Bester, illustrated by Shayle Bester, The Warthogs Tail by John Bush and Lindsay van Blerk, Fanyana talks to the animals by Harry Cronje, illustrations by Butch and Cherry Stoltz

Rebecca Joy Benn: Different is Beautiful and Along came a Strawberry by Bianca Birdsey and Claudine Storbeck , illustrated by Elizabeth Goode

Famous Monkey Last Words by Peter White, illustrated by Peter Oram

Kari Cousins: Desmond and the very mean word by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Douglas Carlton Abrams, illustrated by A.G.Ford

Naomi Botha: UMnumzana Mvundla udibana noMnumzana Mandela – Chris van Wyk, illustrations Paddy Bouma [Mr Hare meets Mr Mandela]

How the Elephant got his trunk by Andrea Florens and Angela Sinclair

How Rhino got his baggy skin, The Lucky Leopard  by Andrea Florens and Claire Norden

Children of God Storybook Bible – Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Brad Senekal: Best book ever: Gods dream (Desmond Tutu). Focuses on race and Gods love! Our kids learned loads and loved it.

Kat Gensicke: Anything by Gcina Mlophe ❤ She is also a personal friend and I promise I am not biased as her stories are just the best anyways!!! eg Our Story Magic, Stories of Africa

Chantal Du Toit: Free online book called Sibo Saves Water by Ginny Stone

Elsa Glenn: Woolf: Half Wolf, Half Sheep, All Heart by Alex Latimer, illustrations by Patrick Latimer

Katherine Graham: Sisi Goes to School by Wendy Hartmann was my boys’ undisputed favourite for a while!

Robyn Wolfson Vorster: Fly, Eagle, Fly: An African Tale retold by Christopher Gregorowski, pictures by Niki Daly, One Round Moon and a Star for me by Ingrid Mennen, pictures by Niki Daly.

i hope you will find that helpful. If you’re a parent and would recommend any of these specifically, please leave a comment highlighting which ones your children enjoyed. If there are books they loved which are not on this list, please add them there as well.

Thank you crowdsourcers and hopefully this will help us to explore some local authors and stories as well as help us to put really good stories in front of our children.

What do you think is missing from this list? Any specifically African or South African stories or authors you would like to add? Please let us know in the comments. 

[For the adult’s version of great South African and African stories to read, click here]