Nelson Mandela

Written by Kadir Nelson

Narrated by Forest Whitaker

This is the story of a young boy who grew up to become president of South Africa. His lifelong quest was to establish equality for people of all colors.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Weston Woods
• Release date: Jan 1, 2013
• ISBN: 9780545836234

Kadir Nelson

Kadir Nelson is a two-time Caldecott Honor recipient. Among his other awards are an NAACP Image Award, and the 2009 and 2014 Coretta Scott King Author Award. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Sports Illustrated, and The New Yorker. He lives in Los Angeles, CA. www.kadirnelson.com Twitter: @kadirnelson Instagram:@kadirnelson

Reviews for Nelson Mandela

[analley-2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a story about Nelson Mandela and all of the situations he had to go through to finally be seen as free. What I thought that was really cool was that it was not seen as your traditional type of biography. the book was written in a format so that a child would be able to understand the history background of Mandela. I think that it is a good thing to show your students the wide diversity in how people were able to overcome civil right movements, to finally be seen as anybody else.

[srthompson · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I liked the story, but the references were some what questionable. One of the references were pictures and another was a book written by Nelson Mandela.

[unioncongucc · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Nelson Mandela written and illustrated by Kadir Nelson. No modern life better illustrates the cost and the value of keeping the faith. Mandela was educated with the support of the United Methodist Church, drew strength from Thembu chiefs and his ancestors. The spare narrative moves swiftly through the timeline of Mandela’s life as a lawyer, activist, prisoner and president. The compelling pictures demonstrate his passion, character and generous spirit.

[ksager-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Nelson Mandela, by Kadir Nelson, is the story of how Nelson Mandela came to be the leader of South Africa. Starting with Mandela's childhood, Mandela spoke out against apartheid in South Africa his entire life, until he was locked up for twenty-one and a half years. Upon his release, apartheid ended and he became leader of South Africa.

[judyross-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a great informational book on Mandela on his life journey.

[afussell-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Rolihlahla was his real name, but his teacher could not pronounce it so she nicknamed him Nelson. He believed in rights for all South African people. He was thrown in jail dozens of times. I would read this book during black history month.

[emilydrennan · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I chose to read this story about Nelson Mandela to my group at Trinity for Biography Day. This is a story about the life and accomplishments of Nelson Mandela. He was born in Qunu, a small village in South Africa. He had 12 brothers and sisters, but he was the only one who went to school. His teacher at school decided to call him Nelson instead of his Xhosa name, Madiba. Nelson then went onto to become a lawyer and attended school in Johannesburg, South Africa. Nelson worked hard to abolish apartheid, which translates to the state of being apart, and was related to racial segregation. Nelson was put into jail for 27 years because of his fight against apartheid. When he was released, he became president of South Africa. Nelson's hard work paid off because apartheid was abolished and there was no longer racial segregation. This is a story of determination and perseverance. Nelson worked tirelessly to achieve a goal others thought was impossible. Nelson achieved his goals and he never gave up. There is a quote by Nelson Mandela "it always seems impossible, until it’s done.” As an activity, a teacher could have the students come up with feats in history that seemed impossible until they were done.

[imandayeh · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Kafdir does an amazing job explaining to children apartheid in South Africa and the inspirational man that Nelson Mandela was. It began with him as a young boy losing his father and being sent to live with a powerful chief where he was surrounded by elders who created a passion in him to help others. "Amandla!" He shouted, he wanted to end apartheid in South Africa. The state wanted him in jail so he disguised himself. When he was caught he was put on a small island for many many years. When he was freed he planned to build a better future for South Africa. Kadir's breathtaking illustrations are filled with emotion. They are rich and strong. Would recommend for grades 3-5.

[shantir-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Genre: Non- FictionAudience: 1-5This was a great book about Nelson Mandela, the activist in South Africa. It is written in the form of poetry and has beautiful illustrations. I will use this book in class while talking about the Civil Rights movement, freedom and equality in other countries and also during Black History Month.

[kelseydavison · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a beautiful tribute to Nelson Mandela and the life he fought for, the life he live, and the life he created for South Africa. He's a true hero who was an overcomer of injustice and cruelty. This is a beautiful picture book with easy language for children to understand what he lived through and fought for. There are some strong inferences that not all young children would understand but as a read aloud, this book would share a great message.

[melodyreads · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Good telling of a difficult story.

[arron_chelmo · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book is about Nelson Mandela and gives a very brief outline of his life. This book has many painted pictures along with the outline of Mandela. It is a great book to be a base for a history unit or to start learning about Mandela. Grade levels include 1-3.

[bornbookish · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I know I don't usually review children's books on here but since this one was told in verse, I made an exception =) The biography of Nelson Mandela and his role in Apartheid is brought to life by author and illustrator, Kadir Nelson, through free verse and beautiful paintings that are rich in color and large in scale. A fellow blogger reviewed this book and when I heard it was told in verse I knew I absolutely HAD to read it!It’s very unique to have a biography written in free verse but I think it worked really well and will help to keep kids interested. This book is a great resource for kids to learn about an important time in history but also one that I think they will thoroughly enjoy reading as well.“Nelson stood proudlywith the wind at his backand spoke to a colorful sea of people.‘We must forget our terrible pastand build a better future for South Africa,Let us continue to fight for justiceand walk the last mile to freedom.’ "

[hfetty1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really liked this book! I think that the level of detail put into the illustrations was great for the targeted audience. Specifically, on pages 3-4, 5-6 and 29-30 the level of detail for the illustrations was incredible. The intended audience ages range and I believe that everyone within the age range would be able to appreciate the illustrations details. I like the language on pages 15-16 when it states, "...he went underground. He wore different disguises and lived in the shadows". I like how the language isn't very straight-forward, and thus, gets the students thinking a little bit about what "living in the shadows" and "underground", mean. Overall, the message that this biography gets across is that, despite the challenges in ones life, it is always important to stand up for what you believe in!

[michelleannlib · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Kadir Nelson does it again. He is becoming my favorite author of nonfiction for children.

[taylorrankins · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This story is about the great Nelson Mandela and all the great things he did. The story was a timeline of events and talked about the impact he had on people. Nelson Mandela went through so much in his life for African Americans. I think this story would be great for anyone,especially people who are unaware of his greatness.

[abbylibrarian_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a beautiful book, as we'd expect from award-winning artist and author Kadir Nelson. He tells Nelson Mandela's story in prose that's structured like poetry. It's definitely a striking book, but it wasn't the whole package for me. I'd pair it with another biography of Mandela because I feel like it doesn't provide quite as much information as I'd like. There is an author's note with more information about Mandela's life (and sources are cited, hooray!), but I wish more of that information had been included in the actual text of the book. This would make a great readaloud for kids who are already familiar with Mandela's life or apartheid or as part of a discussion about Nelson Mandela's life.

[adriennewood · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Rolohlahla is the name that Nelson Mandela was given at birth. He came from a small group (tribe??) and because he was the smartest of all of them, he was sent off to be educated. From young age he knew that conditions in South Africa were wrong and he began to rally against them. Fighting the law was illegal and he was jailed. After 27 years in jail, conditions in South Africa changed and he and his colleagues were released from prison. He was soon elected the first black president of South Africa.This book could be combined with other books for a study on fighting for civil rights. It can also be used to show that oppression can and does happen everywhere, but so can progress :-)

[bwatso12 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The main idea of this story is separate is not equal and that everyone deserves the same freedoms. One thing I liked about this book was that the writing incorporated tribal language, for example:“Amandla!” he shouted. “Ngawethu!” they respondedThrough this feature reader are able to connect to another culture and language. I also liked the organization of this story. This story starts by describing Nelson Mandela’s childhood and how he was the only one in his village selected to go to his school. That is a part of his biography that many people do not know. I think the story did well with covering all the main points of Mandela’s life and career.

[sullywriter_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A handsomely illustrated introduction for young readers.