"We All Went On Safari" is a delightful children's counting book set in Tanzania
The illustrations are superb - this is one of my favourite pages, set around a gate in the Serengeti with a delightful family of warthog trotting past !
I love reading. I mean, I absolutely adore reading and cannot imagine a life without books. We have overflowing bookshelves in most of the rooms of our home and my daughter has a rapidly growing collection of her own books, too. My parents (especially my Dad) read to my sister and I all the time as we grew up, and I have been reading to my daughter since the day she was born and we were still in the hospital together !
Many Tanzanians cannot read, and many do not have access to books on a regular basis. According to UNICEF the adult literacy rate here is around 69%. How many of us take for granted the fact that we can read ? To many people in the world, being able to read is something we take for granted.
I have always lent my staff books to read, and they really appreciate this. Their favourite fiction books are usually anything by Wilbur Smith (!!) and non-fiction books about people on adventures or expeditions in other African countries.
From time to time I've decided to feature some really good African themed or written books which I have enjoyed, on the blog. This idea came to me when I was reading my daughter this book in bed the other night, and I knew that I just had to share it with you, because it is a real gem !
I bought this book in Nairobi, Kenya last year. It is called “We All Went on Safari – A counting journey through Tanzania” and is written by Laurie Krebs and illustrated by Julia Cairns (ISBN 1-84148-782-1). It is published by “Barefoot Books” who's lovely website you can see here.
This is a delightful book which teaches children to count in both English and Swahili (Kiswahili), our local language. It follows a group of Maasai children in traditional dress going on safari through typical Tanzanian landscapes, and counting the wild animals which they encounter along the way.
For example “We all went on safari, past an old acacia tree. Nearby giraffes were grazing, so Tumpe counted three” then it has the letter 3 and “tatu” (the Swahili version) written next to it. The book counts up to 10 and then includes pages on the animals featured in the book, the Maasai people, Swahili names (e.g. “Tumpe” – who counted the giraffe - means “friendly, funny, a leader & organizer”). It also has a page on facts about Tanzania, a simple map & a page on counting in Swahili.
The illustrations are bold, colourful and very true to life and the detail in them is superb. My daughter loves this book, and truth be told - it's one of my favourites, too !
I will leave you with a beautiful quote seen on the back of staff uniform t-shirts at a well known bookshop in Nairobi, Kenya .....
"Richer than you I will always be .......
For I had a mother who read to me"
