Musawenkosi Ama Xaba is just seven years old and to date she is our  youngest contributor. She attended the Abantu Book Festival this weekend and wrote about Kids Zone.

Hello everyone, my name is Musa and I will be writing about the days I went to Abantu Book Festival to learn many things. I went with my favourite aunt. It was fun in the Kid’s Zone. We played games and listened to stories. I also learned facts about different languages.

Mama Gcina Mhlope was teaching us about languages, Afrikaans, Xhosa, Tswana and Sepedi. I leaned about how languages are good.

Mama Gcina is the best actor I have seen in the whole world. She told us many stories, but I liked the one about The Magic Beads. This is how the story goes:

Once upon a time there were three girls who lived in a building in Johannesburg. They longed to get out and play outisde. When they were bored they talked about their hair. The one with magic beads in her hair wished they could get out of the building and suddenly the magic beads lifted them outside.

Then they wished to go to the moon, and the beads took them into the clouds and to the moon. Then the girls wished to go to the zoo, the beads magically took them there. At the zoo there was a child with her mother. The child was very nasty and said the girl with beads in her hair had hair that looked like snails.

The girl with the beads in her hair cried but her friends said don’t worry your hair is good the way it is.

I also like my hair the way it is.

One girl said it is time to go to school because they will get into trouble if they don’t go, so the beads took them there. After school they wished to go back to their homes the beads took them there too.  Then the story ended.

I was so happy to listen to the story. I even hugged Mama Gcina for her birthday. It was her birthday on Saturday, on my first day at the festival.

Mama Gcina allowed me to take a picture with her. On the second day I went with my aunty and my sister. I learnt how to write stories. Next year I am going again. I think more children must come next year.

All images courtesy of Mmuso Mafisa and Abantu Book Festival.