The Day Gogo Went to Vote: South Africa, 1994 - Hardcover

Sisulu, Elinor Batezat

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0316702676 ISBN 13: 9780316702676

Publisher: Little Brown & Co, 1996

Synopsis

Young Thembi is delighted when her beloved great-grandmother, who has not been out of the house in years, announces that she will travel to the polls after the black South Africans are given the democratic vote.

About this title

From Booklist

Ages 4^-9. Thembi, a child in Soweto, tells the story of the amazing day in April 1994 when South Africa held its first democratic elections. Thembi's great-grandmother, Gogo, old as she is, insists that she will vote: she has waited so long for this day, and she will vote, however far she has to walk and no matter how long she has to stand in line. Sisulu lives in Cape Town and worked at a polling booth during the election. There's an authenticity to this story, not only in the child's voice and idiom and in the election-day details but also in the sense of the past struggle to get there. Thembi and her parents are surprised that Gogo wants to go to the polling station: she hasn't left the yard for many years, not since the day when she stood in line for hours at the pension office, was shouted at by the official there, and came home very sick. Now it's different. Thembi goes with Gogo to the polling station, and the old lady is treated with respect. The pastel pictures, with bright movement against a dark background, express a strong sense of the place and the exultation in the community; at the center always is the close, smiling bond between the child and her great-grandmother. This story personalizes those unforgettable news pictures of people in long lines waiting for hours to vote for the first time in their lives. Children will see what democracy means. Hazel Rochman

From Kirkus Reviews

The poignant story of a black South African gogo, or grandmother, who, after generations of struggle, votes in the historic democratic elections of 1994. Gogo shocks her granddaughter, who narrates, as well as the rest of the family when she expresses her wish to vote; exiled by the indignities of apartheid and the infirmities of old age (``Mandela is a young man compared to me!''), she hasn't left the house for years. The community rallies around her, and a local businessman sends his car and driver to take her to the polling station. The crowds applaud as she casts her ballot; once home, the narrator joins in the celebratory toyi-toyi (rhythmic dancing) that continues far into the night. Sisulu works information on voting into the narrative without overwhelming the fundamental story; through Gogo's determination, even readers who are unfamiliar with all the facts of South African apartheid will comprehend the significance of this historic event. Rich pastel illustrations illuminate the text, depicting with equal skill the landscapes of the country and the affection between a gogo and her granddaughter. An uplifting book. (Picture book. 4-8) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Edition details

• Publisher: Little Brown & Co
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0316702676
• ISBN 13: 9780316702676
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Wilson Sharon