Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Nelson Mandela - Kadir Nelson

Illustrated by the author
2013, Katherine Tegen Books, Harper Collins
HC $17.99 Carlisle's Bosler Library
40 pages
Goodreads rating: 4.20
My rating: 4/ (the illustrations are a definite 5)
Endpapers: deep cranberry
Title Page: No illustration, bold information on dark brown/tribal design background
Illustrations: Glorious!
2-page information and photo at the end of the book
Note:  I wish there had been a glossary/pronunciation guide, there were enough words to warrant one, perhaps this would be a good thing for my students to create after reading the book...

1st line: " Rolihahla played barefooted/on the grassy hills of Qunu."

Goodreads:  One day when Nelson Mandela was nine years old, his father died and he was sent from his village to a school far away from home, to another part of South Africa. In Johannesburg, the country's capital, Mandela saw fellow Africans who were poor and powerless. He decided then that he would work to protect them. When the government began to keep people apart based on the color of their skin, Mandela spoke out against the law and vowed to fight hard in order to make his country a place that belonged to all South Africans.

My comments on Goodreads:  Kadir Nelson's illustrations, as usual, are incredible.  The cover is amazing.  This is the story of Nelson Mandela's life, but it seems a little spotty, starting with his earliest years (which was new-to-me information and really interesting), then jumping ahead, flying through his jail years, jumping ahead again....  I read this aloud to my 6-year old granddaughter and will read it to my fourth graders, and there are places that I felt I had to fill in information, or do some extra explaining.  Otherwise, I really loved this book.

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