He is a witty, upbeat, 15 year old who has a knack of expressing himself in verse. In “Cape Town, We’ll be Back!” Thabo catches an overnight bus to Cape Town with his artistic sixteen year old sister, Thembeka. Thabo’s world is South Africa. He lives in Benoni, and has done so all his life.

In this series, Thabo gets to travel a bit and see some incredible parts of his amazing home country. The series spans one month (each book is about Thabo’s adventures over a week).
In these four short weeks, Thabo’s world E-X-P-A-N-D-S in more ways than he ever could have imagined … and that’s where the fun starts!

Here are some things you should know about Thabo and his real world:

HIS REAL WORLD

• His name means ‘HAPPINESS’ and it really suits him!
• He is fun-loving and energetic.
• He is expressive and outspoken
• He isn’t afraid to question anybody or anything.
• He is active and adventurous.
• He is impulsive and daring.
• He loves writing verse.
• He loves music.
  

• Although Thabo is a happy guy, he has known pain. His Mama died when he was young, and he still finds it difficult to express his sadness.
• He thinks that travelling without Father will mean FREEDOM, but Aunt Sophie is a very protective sort. He has to find a way to deal with authority.
• His questions land him in trouble –he has to find a way of finding things out for himself without being offensive.
• His adventurous streak can be dangerous – he needs to learn when careful planning is required!
  

• Young Adults see eye to eye with Thabo and relate to the way that he looks at his world. They will enjoy his quick wit and understand the things that excite him as well as those that frustrate him.

I am not a baby
I am no longer small
My voice is deep
My body’s strong
And I am very tall.

Yet you call me ‘little one’
You tell me what to do
I don’t want rules
Don’t need advice
You treat me like I’m two

Let me be an adult
Let me be a man
Let me make my own mistakes,
I’m the only one who can!

(Verse from Cape Town, We’ll be Back, pg. 12)

• Anybody with an interest in beautiful South Africa finds that Thabo’s World books are a light and entertaining read, but also loaded with factual information. It makes an ideal keep-sake or gift for visitors to take home with them.

• Educators get excited when they discover that Thabo’s adventures are so entertaining that even reluctant students really enjoy reading them! What’s more, educators love the fact that the stories encourage co-operation, critical thinking and social responsibility and they contain a wealth of teaching material covering a broad range of learning areas.
  
  These areas include:
  • Language and Communication

  “Right, Thabo, to answer your question. In the 1930s, when I was still a young boy, somebody wrote a letter to a local newspaper claiming that Cape Town was the only city in South Africa that could call itself a metropolis. Do you know what a metropolis is, Thabo?”
  Thabo frowned, “Um, I think it means …”
  Mr Abrahams interrupted him, “No my boy, don’t guess. Take this dictionary and look it up! Jolly useful things dictionaries, I always carry one with me.”
  “OK. Good idea. Let’s see M-E-T-R-O-P-O-L-I-S.” He turned to the correct place in the dictionary. “Here it is!” He read out aloud, “The main city of a country or region or a centre of activity.”
  (Extract from Cape Town, We’ll be Back, pg. 19)

  • Natural Sciences

  “Let’s give him something to eat.” Thembeka suggested.
  Mr Abrahams, who had been walking past them on the path, overheard this and decided to make his presence known.
  “You two! That is a terrible idea!” he shouted out, waving his walking stick in the air. “Thabo, you and your sister will not be doing the rock hyrax any favours if you feed it.”
  “Rock hyrax?” Thabo looked confused.
  “Yes, that is its correct name.” Mr Abrahams clarified then added, “By the way the rock hyrax, or dassie, as it is commonly known, is actually the closest relative of the elephant.”
  “That little animal?” Thabo couldn’t believe it.
  “Yes, it is true. Anyway, I am sorry to interrupt you two, but I must stop you feeding that animal. You really should never ever feed any animal in the wild.”
  (Extract from Cape Town, We’ll be Back, pg. 23)

  • Social Sciences

  Thabo read the words on the sign carefully, “While we will not forget the brutality of apartheid, we will not want Robben Island to be a monument of our hardship and suffering.”
  He turned to Thembeka, “I am not sure I understand. If this is not a monument of hardship and suffering, then what is it?”
  “My brother, it is a tribute to the triumph of the human spirit over adversity.”
  Thabo thought about what Thembeka had just said. “Do you mean that it is here to help us remember the brave people who made good of a bad situation?” Thabo asked.
  “I suppose you could say that,” she replied.
  “Like Madiba?”
  (Extract from Cape Town, We’ll be Back, pg. 28)

  • Arts and Culture

  The sun started setting soon after they left the station, and they enjoyed the magnificent hues that coloured the evening sky. As the orange orb of the sun slipped below the horizon, Thembeka broke the silence, “Thabo, the sun rises and sets day after day, yet we hardly ever watch it.”
  “You’re right,” Thabo agreed, “we look, but we don’t see.”
  “That is why I like to sketch,” Thembeka explained. “When I draw something, I have to stop and really take notice of what’s in front of my eyes.”
  Without hesitating, Thabo responded, “That is why the world needs artists.”
  Thembeka looked across at her brother and smiled, “And poets.”
  “And poets,” he echoed, grinning broadly.
  (Extract from Cape Town, We’ll be Back, pg. 4)

  • Life Orientation

  “Father can’t wait to see the back of us, it seems,” Thabo commented as he watched the Isuzu turn out of the car park.
  “No, my brother,” Thembeka replied, ‘it is the opposite of how it seems.”
  “Huh?” Thabo looked confused.
  “He’s leaving quickly because he doesn’t want to say good-bye!” she spelt it out for him.
  Thabo nodded. Of course he understood. Some people thought that he never mentioned his mother because he never thought of her. This was also the opposite of how it seemed.
  (Extract from Cape Town, We’ll be Back, pg. 3)

THABO’S WORLD MAKES AN IDEAL TEXT BOOK FOR YOUNG ADULTS LEARNING ENGLISH!

As Thabo’s world broadens, so will the readers.
As Thabo learns, so will you!