As South Africans rushed to the shops to stock up of chocolates and red roses this week, Edith Khuzwayo, a librarian at Malvern Library, visited Little Lambs Learning Centre on Valentine’s Day. She took a library book with her: I Love My Grandad by Giles Andreae and Emma Dodd. The book is a tale of a little boy who adored his grandpa. Together they played adventure games, did gardening, and shared meals. The little boy loved his granddad. Looking at his granddad he could see hair growing out of his ears and concluded that he was old.
As Khuzwayo was reading the book, here and there she’d pause and show the kids pictures. Librarians have a way of reading a story to young ones, they are trained. Imitating the boy, she said with a boyish voice: “My granddad is a special man. If I cannot do it, granddad can.”
The staff and children at Little Lambs Learning Centre fondly call Khuzwayo, Mam K.
Shirley Govender, a staff member at the centre, said: “We are happy with Mam K’s visits.
Today, apart from the story hour, she showed kids how to make Valentine’s Day gifts using waste resources.
“It is always a pleasure having her here. Kids enjoy her because they are taught so many things. She always does different projects with them using waste resources.”
Although many celebrated the World Read Aloud Day on 1 February 2023, the City of Joburg Library and Information Services declared it a month-long story-telling programme.
It has been rolling it out to early childhood development centres within the 5km radius of a city’s library.
Director of Library and Information Services in the City of Joburg Nobuntu Mpendulo said: “We take pride in what we do. At least once a week, librarians visits preschools near to libraries to deliver this reading development programme.”
“The love and cooperation that our librarians are receiving from the Early Childhood Development centres is unbelievable,” said Mpendulo.
Librarians make Joburg great!