Peaceful Protest: The Life of Nelson Mandela

by Yona Zeldis McDonough, Malcah Zeldis

Bright illustrations enhance this biography about the civil rights and political leader who, after years of protesting and decades of imprisonment, did the incredible by becoming South Africa's first black president. Reprint.

Genres: Picture Books, Nonfiction, Biography, History, Africa, Childrens, Geography

Paperback

First published October 1, 2002

About the author

I live in Park Slope, Brooklyn and many of my novels take place here. But my new novel takes place in New Hampshire, and I have woven into it a historical component: the tragic story of Ruth Blay, who in 1768 was the last woman hanged in the state. When I read about Ruth, I was fascinated and horrified in equal measure, and I knew I had to write about her.
I was educated at Vassar College and Columbia University, where I studied art history. But I started writing fiction in my 20's and never looked back. I am the author of seven novels, 27 books for children and am the editor of two essay collections. I'm also the fiction editor of Lilith Magazine . Please visit my website, http://www.yonazeldismcdonough.com or find me on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/yzmcdonough; I love to connect with readers everywhere.

Reviews

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the drawings in this book were very colorful, they were not very recognizable as the people they represented. The text had difficult words for a book filed in the kids section. It may have had a pronunciation guide in the back, but kids are not flipping to glossaries while reading. The slightly large size book helped the colored drawings look good, but it made the text drone in long sentences not really appropriate for kids. Nice summary of facts, and an initial view of this colorful book looked promising, but a full read showed me some flaws that have me liking other books about my hero, Madiba.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Detailed text, but I didn’t care for the illustrations.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Describes the life of Nelson Mandela growing up in South Africa including his education, work, realization that apartheid needed to change, leadership role in the anti-apartheid movement, and imprisonment for his activities. While the book provides good background information about Nelson Mandela, it remains light on his involvement in the anti-apartheid movement and what made him so famous aside from his long imprisonment. the book contains no table of contents or index, but does have a chronology, bibliography and pronunciation guide.

[Prabhat sharma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peaceful Protest: The Life of Nelson Mandela by Yona Zeldis McDonough (goodreads author) Illustrator - Malcah Zeldis, Hindi language translation by Arvind Gupta- Children’s Illustrated Colour Picture Book- The book narrates the story of the Life of Nelson Mandela, the peaceful protestor of South Africa. Mandela was born into the Thembu royal family in Mvezo, Union of South Africa. He studied law at the University of Fort Hare and the University of Witwatersrand before working as a lawyer in Johannesburg. There he became involved in anti-colonial and African nationalist politics, joining the African National Congress (ANC) in 1943 and co-founding its Youth League in 1944. After the National Party's white-only government established apartheid, a system of racial segregation that privileged whites, Mandela and the ANC committed themselves to its overthrow. He was appointed president of the ANC's Transvaal branch, rising to prominence for his involvement in the 1952 Defiance Campaign and the 1955 Congress of the People. He was repeatedly arrested for seditious activities and was unsuccessfully prosecuted in the 1956 Treason Trial. Influenced by Marxism, he secretly joined the banned South African Communist Party (SACP). Although initially committed to non-violent protest, in association with the SACP. He was arrested and imprisoned in 1962, and, following the Rivonia Trial, was sentenced to life imprisonment for conspiring to overthrow the state. Mandela served 27 years in prison. Amid growing domestic and international pressure and fears of racial civil war, President F. W. de Klerk released him in 1990. Mandela and de Klerk led efforts to negotiate an end to apartheid, which resulted in the 1994 multiracial general election in which Mandela led the ANC to victory and became president. This is a motivating story for children and elders. Illustrations help the reader in relating to the story. I have read the Hindi language translation of this book.

[MaKayla Jahn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Summary: This book is about the life of Nelson Mandela. His journey to become free and to free the blacks in his country of South Africa. He was sentenced to twenty-seven years in prison but he still managed to keep his faith as a leader and fight for equality in South Africa, and when he was released he became the first black president of the newly democratic government.

Review: I didn’t like that the story was told from a third person perspective. I think it would have felt more real if Nelson Mandela had told it himself. I also didn’t like the illustrations; they weren’t life-like. However, I did like that the story was inspiring and had a happy ending.

I might pair this book with stories of other inspirational leaders from other cultures, to teach the students about perseverance and diligence.

This book is related to the social justice issue of race. Nelson Mandela was a crucial part of the freeing of the people of South Africa and the fight for equality.

[Abigail Breaux · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a bit longer than one I'd like to use in a read-aloud or something to inform my students about a topic, but I would definitely maybe split it up into days and really break it down. The book takes us all the way from childhood, through the years Nelson was imprisoned, and straight into his presidency. I loved the timeline that the author displayed and think that the book was organized very well.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was published in 2002 which is why I got it cheap on Thriftbooks. It doesn't include his death as he died in 2013. But it's a great book to see the terrible effects of colonization and the first 80 years of his life.
I also like the illustrations.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very educational and inspiring.

[Abbie Shawano · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was beautifully written and depicted the peaceful like of Nelson Mandela perfectly for children ages six to ten. At times, it is difficult to explain to young children the struggles that so many people have, and still do face, in our world. Showing children that there is peace and people who want good for humanity is uplifting and encouraging to even a six year old. I think that young readers would be happy to read this story about a life that they could even ask their own parents about. This book is appealing to students and could teach them a lot about history as well.
This biography could be used in a classroom in a numerous amount of ways. It could be used in a lesson on biographies, civil rights, history, geography, and even art. The art depicted is bright and eye catching throughout the book. There is also a map and chronologic order of events in the front and back of the book which could be a great resource for children to use. This could also help them to better visualize the events that take place in a better, drawn out version for them. Children who read this independently might have a bit of a struggle and would have to be a little older, but they could do it and feel accomplished afterwards. After reading it, the teacher could ask about certain events that took place or how they perceive Mr. Mandela after reading about his personality and characteristics.
Because of the difficulty some students may face while reading this book independently, I would give them plenty of time to finish the book. Although it is difficult, young readers are capable of reading it and finishing it due to the easier context. I think the qualitative aspect of the book overcomes the quantitative, because of the rich language, knowledge, and meaning of the overall story. Students could learn a lot of information that will be helpful to them later on in their schooling.

[Taryn Vogel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Personal Reaction: Right off the bat, I wanted to continue to read this book because the illustrations are so captivating. They make the entire story really inviting. On a personal level, I have always been interested in Nelson Mandela and that is why I chose to read this biography. This is a biography that all students will enjoy. It is a great mix of being for informational about his life, and keeping it entertaining and easy to follow for all ages.
Purpose: For ages 6-10, this booked could be paired with a lesson on diversity. Nelson Mandela went through a lot of struggles in his life being an African American man and the time he lived in. The story could be read aloud to the class, and then used for the students to do a project on him. It could also be paired with a history lesson. Mandela was a prominent figure when a lot of things were happening in world history. The students could connect an event happening in his life, and find another event in history that was a big talking point world wide.

[Julie Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read two biographical Mandela picture books, and this was far better than the first, Mandela by Cooper. While the illustrations did nothing for the story most of the time, there were some in-your-face pictures that matched the straight-forward style of the narration. Like the other book, this one starts at his birth and contains all of the essentials of his childhood much more concisely, and elaborates on the important details that the other book completely ignored. For example, how hard prison life was for him (details), how he ended up in prison, specifically, and why he was let out and why he was important. This book also directly compares apartheid to segregation in the US and gives enough of a story for a child to turn the last page and realize that Mandela is the ultimate UU hero.

[David Wachlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This colorful biography of Nelson Mandela introduces students to the history of South Africa, apartheid, and of Mandela, as well as the concepts of non-violence and civil disobedience, democracy and oppression, and human and civil rights. I would use it in a unit on the American civil rights movement to illustrate the connections between and the universality of these movements.

[Antonio · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an outstanding source for providing an overview of the life of Nelson Mandela. Peaceful Protest can also be used a source for students to “compare and contrast” Apartheid in South Africa with de jure segregation in the United States.

[Barbara Lovejoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

7-03-12: Great book to learn more about Nelson Mandela. Loved the illustrations!
10-06-14: I read this book again. I had forgotten I had already read it, but enjoyed reading it again and being reminded of some things I forgot.

[Shelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peaceful Protest, The Life of Nelson Mandela is a well written picture book biography for young readers about Nelson Mandela, Civil Rights Leader and first elected black President of South Africa. This would be a wonderful addition to any grade school library or classroom.

[Moe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this with my mom. It talks about South Africa and a man who believed in people's rights and had a lot of courage. If I were Mandela, I wouldn't have that much courage myself.

[Carol Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good basic overview of his life. I had trouble doing the math of how old he was at certain points in the book but there was a nice timeline at the end.

[Camille Tesch]

Ages 8-10

[Brittany Dick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beginning with Nelson Mendela's childhood the reader travels through South Africa during his time serving in prison up until he is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. With illustrations so colorful they almost appear child-like, this narrative non-fiction shows the struggle that Mendela and other South Africans suffered at the hands sof racism, aprtheid, societal problems, and oppressive governments. This mother-daughter duo of author and illustrator bring a story to life for students to learn the life of a very important man.