Nyambura Waits for the Bus by Cath Alexander
Jacana Media
32 pages
R109 at takealot.com
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Thanks to the Kids on Kids’ Books feature in City Press, Lathi has been reading new books all year – and it’s become a passion of hers. Eyes will not be shut until a book is read. And of all the books of 2017, her number one bedtime choice remains Nyambura Waits for the Bus.
Why does she love it so much? Because she identifies with the main character, Nyambura, who is going to visit her gogo by bus. While waiting for a bus, she remembers all the times she has spent with her grandmother. And her memories are not hers alone. Most of her fellow passengers had experiences like them too, involving symbols like avocados, beads and eggs. Nyambura receives all these things from the passengers as a token of their appreciation for her help in getting them to the bus with an umbrella when it is raining. Lathi loves the book because it’s written in both English and isiZulu. It is easy for her to understand because that’s how we usually speak at home – a mixture of both languages.
Lathi’s runner-up
Lathi’s second-favourite book of 2017 was My Daddy is a Silly Monkey by Dianne Hofmeyr and Carol Thompson (Tafelberg, 32 pages, R135 at takealot.com). This book’s magic lies in its descriptive phrases. When I pronounce them and act them out, Lathi is delighted. Phrases like “a humungous whale”, “a ravenous tiger” and the like. Lathi loves the ending too, where everyone has to hug, because silly monkey daddy is just such a lovely daddy.
YOUNGER KIDS