Letter from South Africa: A Parent's Joyful Discovery

Today's post is a letter from Jo-Ann, a South African mother of a Lit Quiz Kid to Wayne Mills, the founder and quiz-master of the Kids' Lit Quiz. 

Jo-Ann's first experience of the Kids' Lit Quiz captures the joyful discovery that many parents have had revealed to them through the Kids' Lit Quiz; the unexpected pleasure that comes with understanding what makes a Kids' Lit Quiz reader. 

Our thanks to Jo-Ann for her permission to to publish her letter here. I've edited it slightly to protect the privacy of Jo-Ann and her daughter.

To read more about the 2015 South African KLQ competition, see Marj Brown's report at the end of Jo-Ann's letter. You can also read an Australian educator's perspective on the benefits of the Kids' Lit Quiz, in Janine Hudson's piece, Hooked on Reading, in this post.  Finally, there's more "fan mail" from young readers who have enjoyed the Quiz as well as from authors, educators and other amazed parents at this link.

But, first, here's Jo-Ann's  letter.  I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did.

South Africa, 22 July 2015

Dear Prof Mills,

I know that you have many good books to read and questions to compose but I hope that you will have some time for this lengthy letter of thanks. I have delayed sending it so that it won’t seem like the manic mutterings of a recent Kids' Lit Quiz convert. However, even after a respectable wait following the South African final, I find that I am still completely enthused by our experience.

South African News

On Saturday, a team from Manor Gardens Primary School in Durban won the 2015 South African Kids' Lit Quiz decisively and, with the school's strong pedigree in the Kids' Lit Quiz, appear to be early favourites for the world title.

In 2011, a Manor Gardens team won the world title by the biggest margin in Kids' Lit Quiz's 24 year history and, in 2015, two teams from the school competed at the National Final. Clearly a school with a strong commitment to literacy, Manor Gardens kids have also provided many of the book reviews for Reading for Australia - have a look at the left sidebar for all books recommended by keen readers.

The 2015 South African team from Manor Gardens Primary School

Best of all, Manor Gardens is a state school, showing that literary excellence as well as success at the Kids' Lit Quiz is not only for "rich kids" from private schools. As South African national coordinator, Marj Brown says,

“The quiz has state and independent schools. The difference between these can sometimes be devastating: some schools don’t even have libraries. But as a state school, Manor Gardens’ achievement shows that wonderful things can come from well run state schools.”

Team South Africa 2014: St John's Prep

L -R: Wayne,  Sean, Justin, Max, Andi, Nicky

Introducing the team from St John's Preparatory College in Johannesburg:

More Kids' Lit Quiz News

from South Africa.  Australia's turn NEXT week!

Durban Heat

Published in The Witness, 12 February 2014.  Written by Stephen Coan, Photo by Ian Carbutt

 

 Pietermaritzburg Heat

Published in The Witness, 14 February 2014.  Photo by Jonathan Burton

It's the South African final in Cape Town on Saturday, following the Knysna and Cape Town heats today.   Good luck to all the teams!

The Australian competition starts on Tuesday in Ipswich.  Can't wait!

Nelson Mandela (1918 - 2013)

News just in that Nelson Mandela's death was announced at 10 pm last night, South African time.

Here, by way of tribute, is the piece I wrote on our visit to Robben Island in July and posted on Reading for Australia on Monday:  Prisoner 44664:  Master of his fate, Captain of his soul.  Former Prime Minister, Malcolm Fraser has also written a tribute in today's Canberra Times, Nelson Mandela: 'by far the greatest man'.

Children's version of Nelson Mandela's Long Walk to Freedom, abridged by Chris van Wyk (2010, Pan McMillan)

There is much to remember and honour about Mr Mandela.  I leave you with this quote from his autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom:

“No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”

(1995, Back Bay Books, first published in 1994 by Little Brown and Co)

Prisoner 44664 :

Master of his fate. Captain of his soul.

Looking back to Cape Town from the boat heading to Robben Island

One of the highlights of our recent trip to South Africa was a visit to Robben Island, the former prison, now a museum, some 7 kilometres off the coast of Cape Town. A prison since the 17th century, its most famous prisoner was, of course, Nelson Mandela who was the 446th man to be incarcerated at Robben Island in 1964.

The Big Five

On African safari holidays, your tour operator will tell you about, and sometimes promise sights of, the "Big Five" -  lion, elephant, rhinoceros, leopard and buffalo.

"Big Five" is a game hunting term, first used in Africa to describe the most prized animals for big game hunters.  These animals were chosen as the "big five" because of the element of danger and difficulty involved in hunting them on foot.

Today, four of these animals are now endangered - most critically, the black rhino - and only buffaloes now exist in sufficient numbers to be hunted.  Poaching remains a significant problem for many African animals throughout the native countries of the Big Five (including Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Tanzania).