Bina Nala

Singing was Nala’s favourite thing to do. Sadly, though, she was not allowed to sing while she was beside the river. Don’t ever go to the river,” the parents of the village always warned, because they feared Ledimo, the giant ogre, would take the children. But Nala loved the sound of the river. It made her parents’ warning fade away. She listened to the gentle flow of the water with the Upupa birds singing in the distance, and then created beautiful melodies in tune with the calming sounds around her. One day Nala decides to take a risk, and goes to the river alone, where she meets Ledimo. Ledimo discovers something about Nala that he feels will help him. What does Ledimo want with Nala? Will she be able to get away in time?Nala Sings is a popular folktale, infused with the beauty of nature that reimagines the much-loved African folktale, Tselane and the Giant, originally written in Sesotho.

Nonikiwe Mashologu is the Director of Partnerships and Stakeholder Relations at the Otto Foundation where she is part of a team that promotes reading for enjoyment by creating and managing libraries and reading programmes in a cluster of primary schools in the District Six area. She sits on the board of Nal’ibali as well as the Denis Goldberg Legacy Foundation Trust where she continues to add her voice to creating spaces that expose South African children to art, reading and culture. She has contributed to the South African children’s literacy space for over a decade in various roles such as project manager, editor, facilitator, translator and reviewer. She is the previous chairperson for IBBY SA and was one of the judges for the Exclusive Books IBBY SA award and the Golden Baobab Prize. Nonikiwe continues to find ways to create opportunities for children to experience and share a diverse range of stories. She lives in Cape Town with her husband and two children.