Beverley Naidoo is a South African author of

children's books A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younge ...

who lives in the UK. Her first three novels featured life in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

where she lived until her twenties. She has also written a biography of the trade unionist

Neil Aggett Neil Aggett (6 October 1953 – 5 February 1982) was a doctor and trade union organiser who was killed, while in detention, by the Security Branch of the Apartheid South African Police Service after being held for 70 days without trial. Life a ...

. ''

The Other Side of Truth '' Other Side of Truth'' is a young adult novel about Nigerian political refugees, written by Beverley Naidoo and published by Puffin in 2000. It is set in the autumn of 1995 during the reign in Nigeria of the despot General Abacha, who is w ...

'', published by Puffin in 2000, is a story about Nigerian political refugees in England. For that work she won the annual Carnegie Medal from the

Library Association The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, since 2017 branded CILIP: The library and information association (pronounced ), is a professional body for librarians, information specialists and knowledge managers in the U ...

, recognising the year's best children's book by a

British subject The term "British subject" has several different meanings depending on the time period. Before 1949, it referred to almost all subjects of the British Empire (including the United Kingdom, Dominions, and colonies, but excluding protectorates ...

. Naidoo won the

Josette Frank Award The Josette Frank Award is an American children's literary award for fiction given annually by the Children's Book Committee at Bank Street College of Education. It "honors a book or books of outstanding literary merit in which children or young peo ...

twice – in 1986 for ''Journey to Jo'burg'' and in 1997 for ''No Turning Back: A Novel of South Africa''.

Biography

Beverley Naidoo was born on 21 May 1943 in Johannesburg, South Africa. She grew up under apartheid laws that gave privilege to white children. Black children were sent to separate, inferior schools and their families were told where they could live, work and travel. Apartheid denied all children the right to grow up together with equality, justice and respect. She graduated from the University of Witwatersrand in 1963. As a student, Beverley began to question racism and the idea that white people were superior. Her involvement with the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa led to her being imprisoned in solitary confinement for eight weeks at the age of 21. She left for England in 1965 and studied at the University of York with the help of a United Nations Bursary, training to become a teacher. She taught both primary and secondary children in London for 18 years. She obtained a Ph.D. from the University of Southampton in 1991 and worked as Adviser for Cultural Diversity and English in Dorset. She has tutored Creative Writing at Goldsmiths College, University of London, and run workshops for young people and adults in Britain and abroad, including for the British Council. She married another South African exile. Apartheid laws forbade marriage between white and black people and barred them living together with their children in South Africa. As a child Beverley always loved stories but only started writing when her own children were growing up. Her first book, ''Journey to Jo'burg'', won The Other Award in Britain. It opened a window onto children's struggles under apartheid. In South Africa it was banned until 1991, the year after

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid activist who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the ...

was released from jail. A few years later, when the parents of all South African children had the right to vote for the first time, Nelson Mandela was elected president.

Books

''Journey to Jo'burg'', ''Chain of Fire'' and ''Out of Bounds'' are set in

South Africa under apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

, while ''No Turning Back'' concerns the experiences of a boy trying to survive on the streets of

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...

in the immediate post-apartheid years. ''

'' and its sequel, ''Web of Lies'', deal with the experiences of the children of an outspoken Nigerian writer as they seek political asylum in England. Her 2007 novel ''Burn My Heart'' has an imagined point of reference in the boyhood in Kenya of a second cousin, Neil Aggett, being set in the 1950s during the

Mau Mau Uprising The Mau Mau rebellion (1952–1960), also known as the Mau Mau uprising, Mau Mau revolt or Kenya Emergency, was a war in the British Kenya Colony (1920–1963) between the Kenya Land and Freedom Army (KLFA), also known as the ''Mau Mau'', an ...

. Beverley Naidoo has also written several picture books, featuring children from Botswana and England. In 2004, she wrote the picture book ''Baba's Gift'', set in contemporary South Africa, with her daughter, Maya Naidoo.''Baba's Gift''
. Beverley Naidoo: Author. In ''The Great Tug of War and Other Stories'' she retells African folktales, the precursors of the

Brer Rabbit Br'er Rabbit (an abbreviation of ''Brother Rabbit'', also spelled Brer Rabbit) is a central figure in an oral tradition passed down by African-Americans of the Southern United States and African descendants in the Caribbean, notably Afro-Baham ...

tales.

Works

*''Journey to Jo'burg'' (1985) *''Chain of Fire'' (1989), sequel to ''Journey to Jo'burg'' *''Through Whose Eye? Exploring Racism: reader, text and context'' (1992), nonfiction *''No Turning Back'' (1995) *''

'' (2000) *''The Great Tug of War and other stories'' (2001), retellings *''Out of Bounds: Stories of Conflict and Hope'' (2003) *''Web of Lies'' (2004), sequel to ''The Other Side of Truth'' *''Making It Home: Real-life Stories from Children Forced to Flee'' (with

Kate Holt Katherine Emily Holt (born 1972) is a British photojournalist, who works primarily across Africa and the Middle East to gather humanitarian and development stories for NGOs and private companies, as well as the UK and global media. She is also ...

) *''Burn My Heart'' (2007) *''Call of the Deep'' (2008), retellings *''Death of an Idealist'' (2012) ;Picture books *''Letang and Julie Save the Day'' (1994) *''Letang's New Friend'' (1994) *''Trouble for Letang and Julie'' (1994) *''Where Is Zami?'' (1998) *''King Lion in Love'' (2004) *''Baba's Gift'' (2004), by Beverley and Maya Naidoo *''S Is for South Africa'' *''Aesop's Fables'', a retelling with illustrations by Piet Grobler

References

External links

*
Writers: Beverley Naidoo
at British Council Literature
Resources on Beverley Naidoo's ''The Other Side of Truth'' (La Clé des langues)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Naidoo, Beverley South African children's writers South African writers Carnegie Medal in Literature winners Alumni of the University of York 1943 births Living people South African women children's writers 20th-century South African women writers 21st-century South African women writers South African people of Indian descent