Long Walk to Freedom

This book is only enjoyable to readnfor children, but actually educates them as well as adults. I personally enjoyed reading the book to my grandson and I began to get a bigger picture of Mandela's journey.

Great book for kiddies to learn about our history

Nelson Mandela, born into South Africa's Thembu tribe to a chief who taught him bravery and a wise mother who taught him kindness, learned at an early age that white people ruled the country and controlled virtually all the wealth. Named Rolihlahla, or "troublemaker", Mandela grew up in an extended family that believed in the power of education, and he ultimately completed a bachelor's degree and studied law. True to his moniker, Mandela did stir up plenty of trouble in his decades-long struggle to end South Africa's oppressive system of racial apartheid.Angry that the country's institutionalized form of discrimination left most black people living in poverty while whites enjoyed a comfortable standard of living, Mandela and his collaborators formed the African National Congress (ANC) Youth League, and they organized numerous non-violent protests. When the government responded with violence in 1960, the ANC's strategy became more drastic, leading just a few years later to the arrest of several ANC leaders, including Mandela. Mandela spent 27 years in prison, more than half of which he served at Robben Island under very basic conditions that involved hard labor and virtually no contact with the outside world.Following growing international pressure, the South African government finally released Mandela from prison in 1990. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993, and a year later became South Africa's President in the country's first multiracial election. As an abridged version of Mandela's autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom makes these incredible events accessible to younger readers in an engaging and interesting way. The book's publication coincides nicely with the United Nation's announcement of Mandela Day and the movie industry's release of a major motion picture about Mandela.

This is a lovely book with beautiful illustrations. I bought it because my child has the topic Africa at school, and they are about to learn about Nelson Mandela. It's a very nicely abridged version of Long Walk to Freedom, however the content is still too grown up for younger children to process, and one of the illustrations is of men lying dead in the street after the Sharpeville massacre. This is very much part of the story/history - but perhaps this book is for slightly older children - Year 4 upwards.

Stunning cover & superbly written & illustrated. It should be given to EVERY child to read. It sings the song of Nelson Mandela without shying away from issues of racism through apartheid. It let's children know what is wrong & how to fight for what you believe in.I purchased this for my nephew for Christmas but couldn't wrap it until I read every page. Great purchase. Recommend to everyone esp people of colour... Our future depends on it. I'm buying more for all my friends children too.

After my young kids (4 and 6) asked questions about Nelson Mandela, I searched for resources that could help me explain this painful history.This is wonderfully written and illustrated and I love that it is Mandela's own story told by him. The boys were able to understand and have their questions answered. I highly recommend this book!

I regularly use this book with my Year 6 classes when we complete work on biography / autobiography writing. It is a very child friendly book, which used the first person effectively. It is full of interesting facts and information, which the children find very interesting, especially as most of them have heard about Nelson Mandela in some form. It is well illustrated, with an appropriate level of reading to challenge pupils in Key Stage 2.The only thing that would improve this book, is if it was available to use with an Interactive Whiteboard in CD-Rom form. This would allow whole class shared reading, with annotations and highlighting of the text, instead of me have to scan the book page by page and then faff with combining the double page spread together.This is a great book, which I would highly recommend to parents and teachers alike, as something that they can share with their children. You'll also learn something yourself by reading it.

Disappointed as didn’t realise this was a cartoon style read for children! Non the less a very informative item for the class room and children’s library