‘Chasing Shadows’ by Palesa Manaleng

Puku Review by K. Astre December 2018 In “Chasing Shadows,” author, Palesa Manaleng, tells an emotional story through the eyes of Muvuseni Themba Dumakude, a thoughtful eighteen-year-old who nostalgically reflects on his family’s difficult past as he moves towards his future. Born and raised in KwaZulu-Natal, Muvuseni journeys to Soweto in hopes of discovering parts […]

Review your face children’s book and win!

Submit a fun book review of your favorite children’s book and stand a change to win! Your book review can open the door to a non-reader to start reading! This literacy month the Puku Foundation is giving you a chance to share your views! Download!!  

Great reads for Young Adult book lovers.

Monday’s Not Coming By: Tiffany D. Jackson Publisher: HarperCollins/Tegen, ISBN: 978-0-06-242267-5 Jackson’s sophomore novel, following 2017’s acclaimed Allegedly, features another ripped-from-the-headlines premise that will keep readers guessing through the final pages. After a summer in Georgia with her grandmother, Claudia returns to Washington, D.C., ready to take on eighth grade with her best friend, Monday, even […]

What are readers in Africa thinking?

The Puku Children’s Literature Foundation is a review site that aims to find out what Southern African readers think of the children’s books that are produced and sold locally.  As authors and their stories become increasingly more popular in Africa, this article and interview by BooksLIVE with Jennifer Malec, editor of the Johannesburg Review of Books, is […]

Puku’s look at books – October reads for ages 3 to 5 years…

Check out the latest picture books to catch our eyes on the bookshelves. Pan Macmillan: The Great Gran Plan By: Elli Woolard Illustrator: Steven Lenton ISBN: 978-1-4472-5479-9 To be released on 27 November 2017 Description: The pig lives in a house in the middle of the wild wood. But inside the wild wood there’s a […]

Returning Nature’s Words To Children’s Books

The Lost Words by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris review Article by Katharine Norbury 2 October 2017 In 2007, the new edition of the Oxford Junior Dictionary introduced new words such as “broadband” while others, describing the natural world, disappeared. The dictionary’s guidelines require that it reflect “the current frequency of words in daily language of children”. However, […]

The importance of reviewing children’s books in African languages

A case for Setswana, by Lorato Trok October 2017 The future of every nation is dependent on its children. In South Africa, for many years children’s stories have been published in English and Afrikaans, languages mostly spoken by a minority of the population. Even though the publishing industry has changed over the years, publishing children’s […]