Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born in South Africa on 18 July 1918. He was an anti-apartheid activist, politician and philanthropist who became South Africa’s first black president from 1994 to 1999.
Nelson Mandela married his second wife Winnie Madikizela in 1958 and they had two daughters, Zenani and Zindziswa (the youngest of the two and author of the children’s book GRANDAD MANDELA.
Following closely in the footsteps of her father, Zindzi Mandela is a political and social activist, a philanthropist, author and South Africa’s ambassador to Denmark. She had four children and six grandchildren.
One day her grandchildren, Zazi and Ziwelene visited and found a photo of their great grandfather, Nelson Mandela. They soon began to ask questions about him, which she happily and candidly answers.
Why did grandad go to jail? Because he was fighting against Apartheid. Apartheid is a system of segregation or discrimination on the grounds of race. “It separated black people from white people and said that white people were better,” she explains.
Were the people happy when grandad was released from prison, what is justice, what did he do when he became President and why did the government make grandad stay in prison so long were among the 15 questions asked and answered.
I love everything about this book and it’s a magnificent way to teach children about Nelson Mandela. It’s important to know and learn what he stood for and against. Grandparents are just the best at sharing their wisdom and knowledge and Zindzi Mandela did just that.
It’s Absolutely Amazing and children will just love the wonderful and vivid illustrations by Sean Qualls. His signature illustrations are so very distinctive, I just love it.
