Naledi convinces Tiro to walk with her to Jo'burg to get their mother, who would have money to take Dineo to the doctor. It is a simple story line that has potential to open many discussions and topics for children to further explore in the classroom. For example, at the very beginning of the story, Naledi and Tiro decide that because they would get in trouble for asking for money to pay for a telegram, they should walk to Johannesburg, a city over 300 kilometers away. After her father’s death, her mother, Mma, has had to work in Johannesburg for money for the family. While on their journey the children are helped by several other black people along the way, but are cautioned about the rules of apartheid that are strictly enforced in the city.

Now Beverley Naido herself was born and raised in South Africa (in 1943), and yes, the author has readily admitted never having been taught to question Apartheid (and the general racial intolerance towards Black South Africans) either in school or at home. At Books2Door, we believe that reading is a fundamental skill that every child should have to help improve their vocabulary, grammar, and critical thinking skills. By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. The majority of people in South Africa were black, but they were treated as second-rate citizens who couldn’t aspire to more than being the servants of those in power. It has been a great inspiration for teaching children to use subordinate clauses and using setting to convey emotions.Through meeting Grace they learn about the struggle against the unfair system of the apartheid and the uprising of students against the treatment of black people.

I will recommend this book to any young reader and not forgetting older ones who would be able to learn about hardships non whites were facing. Here, they meet a girl named Grace, who helps them find their mother and offers to let them sleep at her house for the night. It is written from the viewpoint of two young children in South Africa who struggle to understand the injustice they and their families face. However Journey to Jo’burg soon found its way into many different countries, in English and in translations, so that hundreds of thousands of children elsewhere were soon reading it. She does not like being away from her children but must work in Johannesburg to provide money for food, clothing and an education after their father died.I read this book with my year 5 class in a multicultural school, who were shocked and amazed that such discrimination against people based on race happened so recently. Both the truck driver and Grace take responsibility for the children’s well being once they come in contact with them.

I read this to a year 6 class and they really enjoyed it, interested in exploring the history and learning about the issues that faced South Africa. In a no name village, two children aged 13 and 9 decide to go to Jo'burg to bring their mother home - the only person able to maybe save their little sister, severely sick for several days. It was only at university in Cape Town that I too really became aware of the inequalities we and generations before had to endure.It is a simple storyline however so much discussion can be held in the classroom, including the different relationships between the characters and life in South Africa. Beverley Naidoo (a white child) got a vaccine against diphteria, the children of the woman helping her family did not get this chance. When my daughter told me about a book titled journey to jo'burg that she started reading at school in their book club, I was immediately interested in the story.