Mellow yellow

by Jenny Robson

138 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Jennifer Marion Robson (née Murray) is the first author to ever win four consecutive prizes in the Sanlam Youth Novel Competition for the novels Don’t Panic, Mechanic (1994), One Magic Moment (1996), The Denials of Kow-Ten (1998) and Because Pula Means Rain (2000).

Jenny was born and raised in Cape Town. She studied primary school teaching at the Teaching College in Mowbray and went on to study at the University of South Africa (Unisa) where she obtained her B.A. degree in Philosophy.

After two years of teaching in Simons Town, she moved to the diamond-mining town of Orapa in Botswana. She taught music there at Livingstone House for over thirty years. Jenny now lives in Maun in Botswana where she still teaches music. She is widowed and has two adult sons who live in London, UK.

Jenny loves writing for young people as she admires their spontaneity and lack of hypocrisy. Her favourite theme in her books is the utter uniqueness of the individual. She hates any form of stereotyping and sees every individual as a “never to be repeated entity.”

Reviews

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mellow Yellow is the story of a street boy growing up in Cape Town, the city that the author, Jenny Robson, grew up in, and in which the book was published. Jenny Robson was the first person in history to win four consecutive prizes in the Sanlam Youth Novel Competition, among other awards. Mellow Yellow was the first novel that she wrote for teenagers.

Mess, or Mellow Yellow as he was often called because of the bright yellow jersey he always wore, lived on the streets of Cape Town. Life was hard for him and his 'good' gang, but he was happier than he had been for most of his short life. As he said to himself, “Hey, Mellow Yellow, you can't have it all, ou pellie!” All he had were the clothes he wore, including his jersey and an old tobacco tin that held his greatest treasure: a green paper. He promised himself that he would learn to read so that he could find out what secret the paper held. That secret proved to be the most wonderful thing that Mess could have hoped for. It changed his life.

Mellow Yellow is a very simple but enjoyable book. Each chapter is only a few pages long and the font is fairly large and bold, making it manageable for new or reluctant readers. Despite the hardness of the life on the streets, Mellow Yellow's happiness make it light-hearted and fun. Characters fade in and out of the story without much explanation, and you only get a chance to get to know a handful of them. Mellow Yellow's gang does not allow smoking, drinking or stealing, so many issues of gang living are excluded from the story altogether, making it suitable for children. The ending is improbable, and many aspects of the story unrealistic, but the character of Mellow Yellow makes the book a worthwhile read.

This is a good story, and will probably be enjoyed most by children between 10 and 13 years of age.

[chloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really funny and quick read

[Thandeka Matlapeng · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a really great book

[Affi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an amazing book.

[Ceanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mellow Yellow is a truly beautiful book! I love it so so much

[Sonishka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing amazing read!

[Caroline Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's so unlikely and so beautiful and it made me ugly cry

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it

[Velisahonono · Rating 1 out of 5]

My book doesn't want to update

[Esethu Genge · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a nice book to read

[Jeruselum · Rating 4 out of 5]

not as good as child in darkness, this was the catalyst to my life

[Del · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oliver with a Mzansi twist. Defintely a good read for primary school aged children.

[Roxi Kirstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best 'street book' out there. if a book hs ever taught me something, this one has.

[Manjula · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 3rd grader's book at school. Nice.