Desert December, by Dorian Haarhoff.
Desert December, by Dorian Haarhoff. Songololo Books. Cape Town 1992. ISBN 0395613000 / ISBN 0-395-61300-0
Dorian Haarhoff's illustrated children's book "Desert December" is a nice Christmas narration about Damara boy Seth in Namibia, who travels alone with a donkey cart to meet his mother on Christmas Eve.
Seth lived in the Kuiseb Canyon in Namibia not far from the sea, in a small house with his mother and his grandfather. His father was mostly working inland on a copper mine. Fresh water flowed where this small community had its home and where the zebra came to drink. Sometimes the fog blew in, with its clammy breath. Sometimes the sun sucked the water ponds like a hungry baby at the breast. Then Seth had to dig holes and draw water up in tins. Grandfather Nampa helped him cam the tins on a long stick. They made up songs as they walked, for Seth loved to sing. Seth had been in the Canyon for as long as he could remember. He went to school in a house made of stone. His grandfather had been one of the builders. His long hands with lizard fingers had flicked away in the hot sun. One day, early in December, Seth's mother called him to her. "I am going to the village at the mine", she told him. "Will you be away a long time?" the boy asked. "I shall stay there until our baby is born," she answered. "Grandfather Nampa will look after you." - "Can't you have the baby here?" - "No, Seth. There is a midwife at the village and I want to be near your father." Then she left. Seth missed her especially when the sun set. The earth tilted so soft half-darkness as Seth traveled. Away from the sea he was going, in the direction of the rising sun. The cart rolled along in the twilight of a December night. Above him, the Namib stars were dimmed by a white moon. Seth's journey would take a whole night and a whole day, across ground he'd never seen before. But as he went along he too began to feel that he would find the place. "My young bones tell me that!" [...]
This is an excerpt from the book: Desert December, by Dorian Haarhoff.
Title: Desert December
Author: Dorian Haarhoff
Illustration: Leon Vermeulen
Publisher: Songololo Books
2nd edition. Cape Town, South Africa 1992
ISBN 0395613000 / ISBN 0-395-61300-0
Softcover, 22 x 27 cm, 32 pages, throughout b/w-drawings
Haarhoff, Dorian im Namibiana-Buchangebot
Desert December
"Desert December" is a Christmas story about a Damara boy and his travel to his mother. Nicely narrated and illustrated story from Namibia.
Every December. Namibian Christmas: Stories, Reflections, Poems
Many Namibian authors have contributed to the book Every December. Namibian Christmas: Stories, Reflections, Poems.
Mirror, Lens and Window: A Workbook on Journaling for Namibian Teachers in Training
Mirror, Lens and Window: A Workbook on Journaling for Namibian Teachers in Training arises from a sponsorship with Basler Afrika Bibliographien.
Seven Letters. HIV/AIDS Stories from Namibian Children
Seven Letters tells the stories of Namibian children infected by or in conflict with HIV/AIDS.
Unter dem Marulabaum. Kindergeschichten aus Namibia
'Unter dem Marulabaum' ist eine Sammlung einfacher Kindergeschichten aus Namibia.
Legs, Bones and Eyes. A children's trilogy
These three stories for children are about rites of passage
Water from the Rock
A young boy and girl in Namibia find a hidden source of fresh water near their village