The Herd Boy

The story describes a day in the life of an African herd boy from the Transkei region of South Africa. He watches over his flock all day, watches out for birds of prey and helps to save the life of a lamb attacked by baboons. On the way home a big shiny car passes the boy and his flock and the person inside winds down the window. It is Nelson Mandela. When he asks the boy what his dream is, the boy replies… to be President. And the book ends with the boy's big dream of a future very far from the sheep and the village. Nelson Mandela came from the Transkei region and was also a herd boy during his childhood.

With an endnote about the link with Nelson Mandela and a glossary of African words.

NIKI DALY has won many awards for his exuberant work. His groundbreaking Not So fast Songololo (ISBN 9780711217652), winner of a U.S Parent's Choice Award, paved the way for post-apartheid South African children's books. Since then, he has been published across the globe and has visited and presented talks in several countries. Among his many Frances Lincoln books, Once Upon a Time (ISBN 9780711219939) was an Honor Winner in the US Children's Africana Book Awards of 2004. Jamela's Dress (ISBN 9780711214491) - first in the Jamela series - was another milestone book, chosen by the ALA as a Notable Children's Book and by Booklist as one of the Top 10 African American Picture Books of 2000, and winning both the Children's Literature Choice Award and the Parent's Choice Silver Award. Niki lives with his wife, the illustrator Jude Daly, in Mowbray, a bustling Cape Town suburb.