I picked up my copy of Journey to Jo’burg when I visited The Dogears Bookshop a couple of months ago. As I read it, I wondered whether I could introduce it to my book club. It is simply and beautifully written, but it touches upon difficult themes that I don’t know a lot about. I remember reading When Morning Comes, a YA book by Arushi Raina set in South Africa, but I’ve read little else set in the country.
Plus, talking about apartheid, inequality and injustice at an online book club isn’t always easy because we can’t quite judge the children’s moods. For instance, I remember a child writing to me privately in the chat box didn’t like the conversation about what frightens us because it made him even more scared.
Yet, books about difficult subjects are important. Books like Journey to Jo’burg give us hope. Although set in a different age, the book gives us a glimpse of a time that is not entirely gone. We feel the repercussions of apartheid in racism even today, and that’s why I decided we would read this book together. Having introduced a conversation about unfairness with Munni Monster, our first read next month, who knows how far we can go?
Geography
It’s astounding how many adults think that Africa is a country. Beginning with the map, we will look at the continent of Africa, examine what we know, and investigate what we don’t. I will ask each child at the book club to find out a little about one country and tell us what they discovered. I know we’ll all learn something in the process!
Newspaper Clippings
At the beginning of the book Journey to Jo’burg are excerpts from two newspaper clippings. These will serve as a prompt for two activities. One, I will give the children a headline and ask them to write a paragraph of the news piece using their imagination.
Two, we’ll play a game based on newspapers. If the children have access to newspapers, great. If not, I’ll share my screen and we’ll play a word-based game.
Journeys and Journaling
Naledi and Tiro, the two children in the book undertake a journey that seems impossible. The kindness of strangers makes the ending happy.
Journeys make for stories, though, and as creative writing is an important part of this book club, we’ll explore journaling in various forms. This does not have to take the form of travel writing! Instead, we’ll explore mundane journeys, like a journey to school. What do we see, do and hear? What could make the journey exciting?
Let's read together!
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