Paddy Bouma illustrated the new, Chris van Wyk-abridged Long Walk to Freedom – a task that took almost a year to complete. She calls the work the crowning piece of her career in this interview with Bianca Capazorio:
With Nelson Mandela's strong focus on children and literacy, it is no surprise that his life story, Long Walk to Freedom has been rewritten as a children's book.
Abridged by Chris van Wyk, who worked on the original, and illustrated by Paddy Bouma, the book was launched in Cape Town to coincide with literacy month.
It will be available in all 11 official languages.
'Our children are our greatest treasure'
Mandela's great-grandson, Ziyanda Manaway, 8, was at the Joburg launch and read out a message from his great-grandfather.
“Our granddad believes that education and reading are two of the most important things for children. He has asked me to read you this message: 'Our children are our greatest treasure. They are our future. The system of apartheid robbed many children of their right to a decent education and of the joy of reading. This joy is one that I have treasured all my life, and it is one I wish for all South Africans'.”
Cape Town-born illustrator Bouma said that illustrating the book was “the crowning piece of one’s career”.
Bouma, who now lives in Stellenbosch, was originally approached by Pan MacMillan books and after being vetted by the Mandela Foundation, was given the go-ahead in December 2007.
The drawings took her nearly a year to complete and Bouma said the book was challenging in several ways.
“It’s a very big book, it’s twice the size of a normal picture book,” she said of the hardcover book which has more than 50 pages.
Book details
Please register or log in to comment
