A factual illustrated biography for ages 6–8 that follows Nelson Mandela and many South Africans asking who gets a voice: from Thembu community decisions and student protest to collective resistance, prison campaigns, the first shared vote, and public truth-telling after apartheid.
Read first 4 pagesThe opening of Nelson Mandela: Working for a Fairer South Africa, free to read.
When Nelson Mandela was small, his father was a chief, a leader in their Thembu community. After a dispute with a white official, the government took that role away. The event showed how much power an official held over a community leader. Years later, Nelson would work for a country where people of every race could choose their leaders together.
As a child in Qunu, Nelson lived at his mother's home of three mud-walled huts. By age five, he helped look after sheep and calves. He swam, caught fish, shaped clay animals, and played with other children. He knew the work and games of his village before he ever lived in a city.
When Nelson started school, his teacher followed a custom of giving children English names. She gave Rolihlahla the name Nelson. His first name and the teacher's name for him both belonged to the story of his childhood. Many years later, the world would know him as Nelson Mandela.
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