She married a man from Indian descent: their union would have been ”a crime” under the apartheid laws (I'm guessing like Trevor Noah's parents'). I actually almost have up on it because this first time I tried reading it I got confused by the characters and went to sleep! After going with a friend to a restaurant in Frankfurt, even though it was raining like crazy, it did not stop me from going to Oxfam, where I did behave: I only got this one book (1 euro). I used this book within my Year 4 literacy lessons and I thought it was a great way to get the children aware of what was happening in South Africa in the time of the Apartheid. It's possible I'm overreading these elements, because I was aware going into it that the book was written by a white woman from South Africa.

It is a really simple and heartfelt story that contains powerful subject matter for children to explore and discuss in the classroom. When their baby sister falls gravely ill they courageously decide to travel 300km from their small village to Johannesburg to summon their mother from work. They are successful in finding their mother, who is able to get her youngest to a doctor in time to save her life.

Reading it, I am so impressed how Naidoo has tackled a very brutal and disturbing topic and made it accessible, while thought provoking, to children. As well as clear character descriptions and vivid imagery, there are many themes running through the story as it deals with racism and prejudice along with family, love and determination.

The period is South Africa's apartheid years, and while I'm rating four for writing, I'm rating another star for the depiction of tendencies towards popular activism and bringing about change. When their baby sister suddenly becomes very sick, Naledi and Tiro know, deep down, that only one person can save her. Racism: South Africa, at this time, had a system set up through legislation to keep its society racially segregated.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. The book is set in the time of the Apartheid in South Africa and goes through the different things which are different today for black people. Roger Federer has some connections with the country (wiki: his mother is from there); Nelson Mandela; Charlize Theron; 2010 FIFA World Cup (vuvuzela.