The South African section of the International Board on Books for Young People is having a celebratory BookBash at 5.30 p.m. on Thursday 23 October 2014 at SASNEV, 4 Central Square, Pinelands. All are welcome. We will toast our partner Praesa for winning the international IBBY ASAHI Award for reading achievement; we toast the donation […]
IBBY SA Celebrates! Read More »
Another school holiday, another workshop. We successfully concluded the focus on Clanwilliam, my town, with an exuberant painting session in which some rather tropical views of this little town in the mountains emerged. The theme will be continuing in Saturday Stories next term.
Spring Workshops over … for now Read More »
I listen. There is less noise now. People have come home, up the hill with their heavy shopping bags. They walk slowly. The people with the heaviest bags walk slowest – and the old people. But there are more people running down the hill – to the bar and the bottle store before it closes!
Saturday Evening in my town Read More »
Saturday 4th October was a busy day in Clanwilliam, with the last of the walking groups visiting town ‘before the summer begins’ (wrong, it began on Saturday) and a triathlon being run in the vicinity. CBN children took to the main street for a spot of photo-journalism. We began by starting a map of Clanwilliam
Spring Workshops: The My Town project Read More »
My town is quiet. You can smell nature. Flowers come to my mind – lovely, but lots of pollen that makes me sneeze! The proteas are my favourites. We see them when we go up into the mountains. When you come back to Clanwilliam, over the Pakhuis Pass at night, you can see the town
The following poem was written on a Saturday morning, in Clanwilliam, when the children just had to close their eyes to remember what it was like. My Saturday It is Saturday morning – early Saturday morning. My eyes are closed. No school! (I think) Go to town! (I think!) Eat everything! (I think) Ice cream,
Although it has been online for some years now, this IBBY selection of books from Africa remains a thoughtful and interesting guide. The IBBY exhibition is envisaged as source of information for quality African children’s books produced for teachers, researchers, parents and for all those interested in children’s literature. Though this website is in English,
IBBY Virtual Exhibition of books for Africa from Africa. Read More »
The Children’s Radio Foundation (http://www.childrensradiofoundation.org) train young reporters around Africa in radio broadcasting, opening all sorts of opportunities to them and teaching a plethora of useful skills. They are a wonderful organisation that we have been lucky enough to have the pleasure of working with. They came to interview our team at our fundraiser we
Children’s Radio Foundation Read More »
A Campaign to raise funds to donate more HOME LANGUAGE storybooks to children in South Africa. My Language My Heritage is a Campaign by Biblionef South Africa to raise funds to provide children who don’t have access to any storybooks with new books in their home language. Individuals from all corners of South Africa and
My Language My Heritage Read More »
ASSITEJ South Africa, part of an international organization that brings theatre to children, has invited CBN to bring ten teenagers from Red Hill informal settlement to attend a workshop on the play and then a performance at the Artscape Theatre in Cape Town on 5th December at 2.00 pm. This very exciting opportunity will be
Red Hill Teenagers to see War Horse! Read More »
The Saturday Stories children have discussed and approved a new – very extensive – project that has already begun but which will get under full steam in October, November and during 2015. We began quite simply with the topic of Clanwilliam on a Saturday. We talked in advance about whether the children would work as
Group writing: A New CBN Project Read More »
I dreamed of a lion that talked. And what did he tell you? What did he say? He spoke of flat, wide plains, where porcupines dug holes under the moon, where people told their stories while stars burned bright. I dreamed of a zebra, who ran through my dreams while I slept And where did
I dreamed of a lion that talked Read More »
Since the rather intriguing looking rock gongs have been installed just inside the gate of Clanwilliam Living Landscape Project, they have attracted a lot of attention – and made a lot of music. Never by younger musicians – these ones aged four and five. It is interesting to watch the concentration of young people playing
Clanwilliam’s youngest musicians Read More »
Pre-school visit to CBN & CLLP Q: When a play school comes for a workshop, is it a play-shop? A: Definitely. Twenty-five children from Lemoenland pre-school visited Clanwilliam Living Landscape Project and CBN for a books and stories experience as part of their Heritage Day celebrations. The children and their teachers, plus two librarians from
Heritage Day with CBN Read More »
IBBY Announces the Winners of the 2014 IBBY-Asahi Reading Promotion Award The IBBY-Asahi Reading Promotion Award, initiated by the International Board on Books for Young People and sponsored by the Japanese newspaper company the Asahi Shimbun, is presented to projects that are judged to be making a lasting contribution to reading promotion for young people.
IBBY-Asahi 2014 Winners Read More »
Developed by the people who gave us Sesame Street, this resource for early Child Development invited CBN to contribute to their blog. For a link to the blog, and to see more about what Takakani Sesame does, please go to: http://www.earlychildhood-takalanisesame.co.za/latest-posts/children-books-books-children-lesley-beake http://www.earlychildhood-takalanisesame.co.za/
Three sessions of Saturday Stories are planned for the rest of September and beginning October. These informal sessions begin at 10.00 with the ringing of the rock gongs (sometimes well in advance of that, in fact!) and end about noon. Reading, stories, artwork, writing and fun are had by all. Saturday 20th September Saturday 27
Saturday Stories in Clanwilliam Read More »
Both begin with C and both are totally absorbed in the topic of books – and reading. What’s your favourite book? It’s one of the security questions asked when you want to log on to a secure website and it gives me so much trouble that I had to write the answer down somewhere (safe)
Those who work in the field of children’s literature do so because they know, deep down, that they are doing that is right. We are bringing children and books together. These are occasions when the various skilled people create a magic which cannot be easily described. The children who gathered happily in Simon’s Town Library
Dianne Hofmeyr presents The Name of the Tree is Bojabi Read More »
Richard Parsons, Champion of Children’s Book Network and friend, died last week after a courageous struggle with cancer. CBN owes him a tremendous debt of gratitude for his enormous support and encouragement since our beginning. We will miss him. Many, many people all over South Africa and beyond are pausing to reflect, with sadness, on
CBN loses a fine friend Read More »
