Robson, Jenny
Tommy Mütze
A novel from South Africa
Translated from English by Barbara Brennwald
© 2012 Baobab Books; 3rd edition 2020
84 pages, hardcover, 13,5 x 21 cm
CHF 25.00 / € [D] 16,95 / € [A] 17,00
ISBN 978-3-905804-39-3
Ages 9 and up
When the headmaster presents Tommy McAdam to his new classmates in Grade Four at Colliery Primary they are especially interested to find out more about him – the usual things: where he’s from, what sports he plays – but most of all, why does he refuse to take off his balaclava?
They begin to like him despite of the balaclava, which he wears to school religiously – a different colour each day. He is a great soccer player and fits right in with the other boys. Of course their curiosity grows, and eventually they think of a plan to reveal Tommy’s secret. This book is great fun, and readers won’t guess the secret until the very end.
The Author
Jenny Robson, who was born in South Africa, now lives in Botswana. She has won many important awards for her numerous books for children and youths, including the UNESCO Prize for Children's and Young People's Literature in the Service of Tolerance. »Balaclava Boy« is her third book to be translated into German. In her epilogue to »Balaclava Boy« Jenny Robson says: »As a little girl I grew up under South Africa's Apartheid laws. As a white child I was only allowed to go to school with other white children. Today I am a teacher. There are black, white and Indian children in my class, as well as children from mixed families. This reminds me every day of the fact that a miracle has happened in my country.«
Original edition: Balaclava Boy © 2009 Tafelberg/NB Publisher, Cape Town
