Journey to Jo’Burg (HarperCollins Children’s Modern Classics) (Journey to Jo'Burg Series Book 1)

Product Information

Running away from their grandmother, the three siblings begin the long journey to find their mother in Johannesburg.

It could be used to link to PSHE or Citizenship to address bullying and racism, History to examine the apartheid and Geography for studying Africa.When their baby sister suddenly becomes very sick, Naledi and Tiro know, deep down, that only one person can save her. The gripping and empathetic story will draw pupils into engaging imaginatively with what life would have been like for families living during this time of racial segregation.

Two kids see their little sister getting very ill but the lady who cares for them doesn't have money for a hospital. Journey to Jo’Burg is set in South Africa during the apartheid and tells the story of Naledi and Tiro who, frightened that their baby sister Dineo will die, take a 300km journey to find their mother who works there as a maid. Naledi (”Morning star” in the native language Tswana) and Tiro (”Hard work”) go on an adventure of about 300 km, a race against time and obstacles, during which they walk, hide, make friends, find their mom and go back home with her by train. Thirteen-year-old Naledi lives with Nono (her grandmother), Tiro (her brother), and Dineo (her baby sister) in a small South African village 300 kilometers from Johannesburg. Read and Respond] makes it easy to explore texts fully and ensure that the children want to keep on reading more.

It's possible I'm overreading these elements, because I was aware going into it that the book was written by a white woman from South Africa. This book contains photocopiable activities, guided reading notes, speaking and listening activities, writing projects and creative ideas – all from a bestselling, tried-and-trusted series that’s a firm favourite with teachers.

You could incorporate drama too, perhaps focussing on journeys and the people/experiences they encounter.On their journey they experience the oppressive and harsh realities of the apartheid including the segregation by colour, the Pass laws that require all black people to carry a passbook at all times and the extreme poverty alongside so much wealth. It has prompted some lively discussions as well as provided a strong platform for engaging literacy lessons and cross curricular activities for half a term. What makes this book an international piece of literature is that it is about another country, South Africa, written and published in English. It seems clear that the point of the novel is to point up some of the major problems with apartheid, but at the same time it seems to downplay those problems too much.