The Doll that Grew: Q&A with Damaria Senne

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The Doll that Grew is the latest children’s story to be published by Damaria Senne, author of Boitshoko and owner of Damaria Senne Media cc. It tells the story of a little girl, Pule, who broke her brother Neo’s wire car, and his revenge. Christelle du Toit asked Damaria about the underlying themes in her book.

The Doll that Grew seems to be written in a truly African storytelling tradition with African imagery and morals – would you agree? What is this rooted in?

Your impression is spot-on. I wanted to tell a contemporary story that was narrated in African storytelling tradition, something that could be a perfect blend of our history and our present. I wanted the story to reflect the lives that rural African children live, so that they could easily relate to it, but I also wanted my readers to experience African storytelling.

In editing and rewriting The Doll That Grew to publish as a Kindle ebook, I also wanted a story that easily lends itself to drama. I wanted it to be a story that a parent can easily read to the children, and be able to paint vivid pictures of the events through words. This method of storytelling really stimulates children – they can’t just stare at the pictures and work out the story. They have to listen to the words, engage with the story. Their imaginations will also race as they try to create visual images of the people and creatures they are hearing about.

How does an African children’s story differ from traditional children’s stories told from a European point of view? Are there similarities?

There are a lot of similarities between children’s stories, whether they are from a European or African point of view. In both types of stories there is a lesson/moral for the children to learn. The difference is that modern European stories are no longer blatant about the lessons they want to communicate to the children. Also, in African storytelling tradition the lessons are sort of couched in a cautionary language. “Do not do A, B or C or you will suffer the consequences!” the message says. Those who break the rules / go against the moral that is being taught generally suffer. They lose something valuable, they are punished, and sometimes they even face the threat of death.

In European contemporary stories the message is more positive. We still teach our children certain values, but our lessons are in a more positive manner. The lessons are couched in a language that says “Do X, Y and Z”, and even though one of the characters may transgress, they eventually learn what they did wrong and then fix the problem.

What are some of the morals that should be promoted in children’s books? How does that relate to the African storytelling tradition?

Our aim as parents, teachers, child-carers and guardians is to slowly give our children the knowledge and tools to face life’s challenges with strength and courage, so that they can succeed in life. Children’s stories, whether traditional/old or contemporary, should reflect these lessons in an age-appropriate and entertaining way.

We want our children to be kind to others, to ask for forgiveness when they wrong someone. We want them to be productive members of society, so we teach them to work hard and to not cheat or steal. We want our children to be comfortable in a diverse society, so we teach them to respect all people and not to underestimate those who seem weaker, because while they may do things differently, they may very well do certain things better. We encourage them to tell the truth even when they are in trouble.

In The Doll That Grew I wanted to caution against reacting too quickly, in anger. One of the characters, Pule, knows enough about love and forgiveness to forgive his sister when she damages his car the first time. However, he gets very angry the second time she damages it, and punishes her while still in the heat of that anger. I don’t want to spoil the story for those who haven’t yet read it, but the consequences of his actions affect him and his sister long after his anger has abated.

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The Doll that Grew is available on Amazon and retails at $2,99. The Afrikaans translation, Die Pop Wat Gegroei Het, is also available on Amazon.

Upcoming titles by Damaria Senne include Tselane and the Giant (to be released in April 2012) and The Mouse Trap (to be released in May 2012).

For more information about The Doll That Grew and other titles by Damaria Senne Media, click here.

 

 

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Kommentaar

  • Hi Damaria

     
    I am thinking of having an article translated into Afrikaans, could you tell me who did the translation for your book The Doll That Grew?
     
    Regards
     
    Anne
     
     
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