Mr Hare Meets Mr
Mandela is one of the last stories Chris van Wyk wrote before he died and
it originally appeared in the Sunday Times Storytime: 10 South African Stories
for Children.
Illustrated by Paddy Bouma, the story deals with Mr Hare who
finds a R200 note on his doorstep. When he turns the note over he sees Mr
Mandela’s face and decides to brave the big city of Johannesburg to return it
to Mr Mandela. But Mr Hare cannot read and he comes across many people along
the way who want to get their hands on Mr Mandela’s money. Mr Hare also cannot
work out why the note keeps changing colour!
Chris van Wyk was a much-loved South African poet and writer
who was born in Soweto in 1957 and passed away on October 3, 2014.
In 2009, he abridged Nelson Mandela’s autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, to create a
picture book (also illustrated by Paddy Bouma) for young children. He also
authored numerous books for children throughout his life and was a strong
advocate of reading for young and old.
Van Wyk was always at pains to express the humour and the
sadness of life through his stories, and was determined from an early age to
become a writer. His dedication to his craft and his activism continued from
his early days at Sached (South African Committee for Higher Education), as the
editor of the Ravan Press literary journal Staffrider, and as a full-time
writer, all the while continuing to publish his works and speaking to readers
around the country
Paddy Bouma was born in Cape Town and trained as a painter
and printmaker at UCT, where she was awarded the McIver Scholarship, and at the
École nationale superieure des Beaux- Arts in Paris as a bursary student of the
French government. She taught Lithography and Illustration at the University of
Stellenbosch from 1971 to 2006 and has exhibited on numerous occasions. She has
illustrated a large number of picture books that have been published
internationally, including van Wyk’s adaptation of Nelson Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom. In 1986 she was
shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal. She lives on a small farm in the
Jonkershoek Valley, Stellenbosch
Mr Hare Meets Mr
Mandela is published in paperback by Jacana. ISBN 978-1-4314-2438-2. Price R120.
978-1-4314-2439-9 Mr
Hare Meets Mr Mandela (Afrikaans)
978-1-4314-2440-5 Mr
Hare Meets Mr Mandela (isiXhosa)
978-1-4314-2441-2 Mr
Hare Meets Mr Mandela (isiZulu)
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