The Herd Boy

by Niki Daly

Overview

Malusi is a herd boy, which means that he must look after his grandfather’s sheep and goats and protect them from harm on the grazing slopes. This is a big job for a small boy and one Malusi does well. Still, he dreams of being more than a herd boy: he wants to be president!

When Malusi mentions these hopes, his friend Lungisa laughs and laughs. But after an attack by a hungry baboon and an encounter with Nelson Mandela, Malusi wonders if his dream isn’t so impossible after all… 

In this poignant story set in South Africa, greatness often comes from humble beginnings. Niki Daly’s captivating prose and atmospheric illustrations help readers consider what builds the strength, courage, and integrity of a great leader.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802855503
Publisher:	Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
Publication date:	07/14/2020
Pages:	36
Sales rank:	1,113,437
Product dimensions:	9.60(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.20(d)
Age Range:	6 - 10 Years

About the Author

Niki Daly has written and illustrated a number of award-,winning picture books, including Pretty Salma(Clarion), Ruby Sings the Blues (Bloomsbury),and Jamela's Dress (Frances Lincoln). Niki livesin Cape Town, South Africa.,

Editorial Reviews

Malusi has a blue hat, a red blanket, and a difficult job: trying to keep his grandfather's sheep and goats safe from baboons. He has to watch for snakes and prevent his animals from falling into the ravine. "You have to be awake, and you have to be brave, to be a herd boy," writes Daly (Pretty Salma). Malusi also has a dream: he wants to be president, and when Nelson Mandela's car happens to drive by (it seems surprisingly believable), Mandela tells Malusi that he was once a herd boy himself. "Ah, a boy who looks after his herd will make a very fine leader. Sala kahle , Mr. President." While the episode is imagined, the message is clearly one of hope; Daly gives children like Malusi reason to believe that, despite their humble circumstances, they, too, can aspire to the nation's highest office. And Daly's portrait of rural South African life—the growls of baboons, the taste of maize porridge, and the view of the village enclosure from above—gives his story an almost cinematic dimension. Ages 6–10. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

AWARDS and RECOGNITIONS
 
Junior Library Guild Selection (2012)
Poetry Center at Passaic County CC, Paterson Prize for Young People Honor Book (2013)
United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY), Outstanding International Books(2013)

From the Publisher

Gr 1–3—Malusi looks after his grandfather's sheep and goats in rural South Africa. Every day, while it is still dark, he takes his herd to the grazing slopes. There, he must keep them safe from the ravine and snakes. "It's a big job for a small boy/…you have to be brave, to be a herd boy." His friend Lungisa, who dreams of playing soccer, and Malusi, who dreams of being president, play games and stick-fight while they watch over the animals. After Malusi bravely fends off a starving baboon, he gingerly cares for a wounded lamb and carries it back to his village. Then, in a highly believable moment, Nelson Mandela pulls up in his car and encourages Malusi by telling him, "a boy who looks after his herd will make a very fine leader." Daly does an extraordinary job of illustrating the story through detailed, gorgeously rendered images of the country. In addition, spot art illuminates textual references and unseen events. The glossary of Afrikaans and Xhosa words and an author's note clarify the text. This is a touching, eloquent story about a young boy who could be any child. Filled with hope and promise, it will inspire children to embrace their place in life and dream big.—Nancy Jo Lambert, Ruth Borchardt Elementary, Plano, TX

School Library Journal

A day in the life and dreams of a young South African herding boy. Daly provides an opportunity to witness an everyday existence most likely very different from the one led by readers. Malusi is a Xhosa herder. Daly sketches his day, from his porridge breakfast to taking the sheep and goats out to graze, a little play with his friend, gathering dung to fertilize the garden, a dangerous encounter with a baboon and then home again. There is an elemental rhythm to the story, and the artwork is striking, the colors a mottle of landscape greens and browns, picked out by vivid wildflowers. The author salts the common proceedings with Malusi's dreams of a better lunch, owning a dog and becoming president of the country one day. (Nelson Mandela makes a brief appearance, reminding readers that he, too, was a herd boy.) Also sprinkled here and there are a sampling of words from South Africa--both Xhosa and Afrikaans; kraal, donga, googa--that are corralled into a glossary, as well as local fauna, from black eagles to puff adders to those opportunistic baboons. Malusi's life may be cut to the essential, but it is never short on incident and for the need to be on his toes. Affectionate and existential, Daly has well and fully caught Malusi's immediate circumstance and his horizons. (Picture book. 6-10)

Kirkus Reviews