Prominent South African academic and author William Gumede recently published his latest children’s book, ‘Upside Down World’.
This was part of the African Storybook project, which addresses the lack of children’s books on the continent.
The initiative allows users to read, create, download, translate and adapt stories in a range of languages, continuing the rich tradition of African history.
The idea to write children’s books came to Gumede when he recalled how he used to read stories to his younger siblings – a role he says he played well.
“My mother used to work the night shift, and I would comfort my siblings through the stories I read them,” he says. Much older and married, Gumede found himself living in London with his family, and often reading to his own children.
He noticed his children were not aware of the stories he grew up with, and realised South African and African stories need to be told so that the current generation can have their own connection to Africa.
‘Upside Down World’ is about the sun staying out for too long on a summer’s day.
The sun’s selfishness ends up disturbing the rest of the life cycle, which results in many annoyed people.
Gumede says it took three years to complete the entire process of producing and publishing the book.
“The book was launched late last year, but the lockdown is probably the catalyst that can make it widely accessible for people online,” he says.
‘Upside Down World’ is available on the African Storybook website.
Gumede says he has noticed not many African parents read to their children.
“The story is a good instrument to explain to children the importance of sleep and rest, and that other animals need to be active at night. The overall message is to be considerate to others,” he says.
“I wove this hidden message into the story for children to learn a bunch of life lessons.”
Gumede says the book will be translated into other languages across the continent.
He says he had a great love for kites as a child in South Africa, and says other children even bought kites from him.
“My first children’s book, ‘A Kite’s Flight’, won multiple awards when it came out. Following that, I did a contribution to Unicef’s ‘Tiny Story’ for the organisation’s 70th anniversary,” Gumede says.
His non-fiction works include bestsellers ‘Thabo Mbeki and the Battle for the Soul of the ANC’, ‘Restless Nation: Making Sense of Troubled Times’ and ‘Nelson Mandela: No Easy Walk to Freedom’.
