Creating Books for the Young in the New South Africa: Essays on Authors and Illustrators of Children’s and Young Adult Literatur

This collection of essays analyzes the work of 29 authors and illustrators. South African children’s and youth literature has a long history. The country is the most prolific publisher of children’s books on the continent, producing perhaps the highest quality literature in Africa. Its traditions resonate within the larger world of children’s literature but are solidly grounded in African myth and archetypes. The African diaspora in the U.S. and elsewhere have stories rooted in these oral traditions.

Much has changed in South African literature for children since the 1994 transformation of the country. A field once dominated by all white and mostly female writers and illustrators has diversified, adding many new voices.

Barbara A. Lehman is a professor emerita of children’s literature at The Ohio State University. Her interests focus on multicultural and global children’s literature and child-centered literary criticism. She lives in Columbus. Jay Heale is the long-standing editor of Bookchat, South Africa’s only periodical dedicated to children’s literature and now available on the internet. He is the author of many books for children and about children’s literature. He lives in Napier, South Africa. Anne Hill has been involved in initial and in-service teacher development since 1989, specializing in drama, art and literature-based approaches to literacy. Retired from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, she lives in Greyton, South Africa. Thomas van der Walt is a professor in the Department of Information Science at the University of South Africa where he teaches children’s literature, user studies and archival science. He lives in Pretoria, South Africa. Magdel Vorster worked for several years as a children’s librarian and went on to co-own a children’s bookshop, Rapunzel, in Pretoria, South Africa. She lives in Abu Dhabi and remains active in reviewing South African children’s literature.