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Beverley Naidoo
Beverley Naidoo was born in South Africa. She grew up under
apartheid laws that gave privilege to white children. Black
children were sent to separate, inferior schools and their families
were told where they could live, work and travel. Apartheid denied
all children the right to grow up together with equality, justice
and respect.
As a student, Beverley began to question racism and
the idea that white people were superior. At 21 she was arrested
for taking part in the resistance movement.
In 1965 Beverley came to England. She married another
South African exile. Apartheid laws forbade marriage between white
and black people and barred them living together with their
children in South Africa.
As a child Beverley always loved stories but only
started writing when her own children were growing up. Her first
book, Journey to Jo'burg, won The Other Award in Britain. It opened
a window onto children's struggles under apartheid. In South Africa
it was banned until 1991, the year after Nelson Mandela was
released from jail. A few years later, when the parents of all
South African children had the right to vote for the first time,
Nelson Mandela was elected president.
Beverley says she mixes the yeast of imagination with
the ingredients of real life for her fiction. For Chain of Fire she
had to rely on reports and photos smuggled out of South Africa. But
after 26 years she was at last able to return freely to research in
the country. No Turning Back and Out of Bounds followed. In all her
stories, young characters from different backgrounds face tense
conflicts and choices.
Beverley chose London as the setting for her first
novel set outside South Africa but the issues are as dramatic. Two
refugee children face a terrible personal loss as well as
injustice. The Other Side of Truth won her the Carnegie Medal.
The Other Side of Truth
Two shots at the gate in the early morning, and Sade and Femi's mother is dead. Together they must flee from Nigeria but will their journey to England be safe? And what will happen there? Sade and Femi have to rely on their wits to survive until they find help from others who understand what it feels like to be an outsider in a strange country. (10+)
Published in Puffin Books
Journey to Jo'burg
13-year-old Naledi and her little brother travel 200 miles to Johannesburg to find their mother, who they know is working as a maid for a white family. Their little sister is ill and they must reach their mother to bring her home. But Naledi and Tiro have to face prejudice and danger and Naledi begins to realise the horrifying effects of apartheid. (9+)
Published by Longman Group UK Ltd
Out of Bounds
Seven short stories, one for each of the seven decades of apartheid that once dominated every aspect of South African life. Whites, Blacks, Indians and Coloureds - there were different rules for each. Each story shows how children's courage and honesty can overcome prejudice in small ways which, taken together, make for a brave new future. (10+)
Published in Puffin Books
No Turning Back
Living out on the street Sipho, who has run away from his brutal stepfather, has to fend for himself with the other homeless children. There's sometimes money to be made on the supermarket trolleys, or down by the traffic lights - though that's dangerous. But getting money is only one of Sipho's worries. Who can he trust and how will he ever be safe? (10+)
Published in Puffin Books
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[ Windows Media Clip 1- The Other Side of Truth ]
[ Windows Media Clip 2- When I was a child I didn't ask many questions ]
[ Windows Media Clip 3- I hope my books ask some of the big questions ]
[ Windows Media Clip 4- Books can take you into other people's lives ]
