Learning to Swim in Swaziland: A Child'S-Eye View of a Southern African Country

by Nila K. Leigh

An eight-year-old girl describes her one-year stay in the African country of Swaziland, including facts about daily life, schools, and the people

Genres: Picture Books, Nonfiction, Childrens, Memoir, Africa, Cultural

45 pages, Library Binding

Published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Michele Benson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Swaziland is a tiny, landlocked country in Southern Africa. Now known as the Kingdom of Eswatini. It is one of the smallest countries in Africa; despite this, its climate is diverse, ranging from cool and mountainous, to hot and dry. This book is told from the viewpoint of a young girl who explains the culture in simple terms with drawings.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Malcolm says, "I liked how she learned to swim in Swaziland. And I liked how they lived in Africa. I liked how they speak English and that other language."

[Ellee Nichols · Rating 4 out of 5]

Copyright date:1993
Star rating: 4
Award: N/A
Genre: biography, picture book
Summary w/ themes: this book is told by a girl who moved to Swaziland from the US, and it talks about the different way they live.
Use for future classroom: this would be a good book to use to teach about writing a biography
Thoughts of book: I thought this was a fun book and I like that you can tell a kid wrote it.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book gives an interesting perspective of Swaziland and the lifestyle there since the author is a young student who grew up there. This is a good example of a primary source because she is recalling different aspects of her life and culture growing up. I learned many things about Swaziland, so it would be a good resource for students to learn as well about a country in a different part of the world. I would use this book to develop a multicultural education in my classroom, and students could reference this book if researching different countries.

[Brandon Kuether · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book! This book is in children's handwriting which, will immediately engage students with the book, as it seem as thought they are being told a story directly from another child their age. This book is a great way to show that students in our schools each have their own cultures and backgrounds, some very different than our own, and it is important to values those cultures. It is very eye-opening to see kids, just like our students, living lives totally different than our own. There are many cute visuals, as well as pictures of the author as a child in the book.

[Lorraine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was written by Nila K Leigh who was an American kid who lived in Swaziland for a while. I love this book because it reminds me of where I grew up and it because it looks like a child's scrapbook with kid writing and pictures and photographs. Your children will learn about another country and it will keep their attention because it was written with a child's point of view.

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I discovered this book when my parents were on a mission in South Africa. This is probably one of my top 5 favorite childrens books!
I love hearing about living in different countries...and what people have learned living there. I love the way it's from a child's perspective...a great way to introduce kids to different ways of life. Love it.

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Learning to Swim in Swaziland: A Child's-Eye View of a Southern African Country was written and illustrated by a little girl that lived for a short time in Swaziland with her parents. What an interesting experience for this little girl!

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this a lot because the way it was written (crayons, her own handwriting) makes for a really authentic reading experience. The pictures and drawings really help kids see what people and culture is like in Swaziland. I wish this wasn't out of print!

[Skye Pratt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hell yeah, baby! There's water down there! You can swim in it!

[Leland · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book about living in a new place and learning new ways. My cousin Nila is my cousin by marriage (:

[Kayla Whitlock · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love that a child wrote this book. It was published when she was in 4th grade.

[Dona Kubina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bought this book for my daughter who is going to Swaziland for two years in the Peace Corps. It gave her a child's perspective of life there, and our whole family enjoyed perusing its pages.