Written by Trevor Noah

Publisher: Yearling : An imprint of Random House Children’s Books

ISBN-13: 978-0525582199

 It’s Trevor Noah’s: Born A Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood (Adapted for Young Readers)  Trevor’s story from his book, Born A Crime, remains the same in the adaption for young readers, but this version makes it more accessible, relatable, and still very funny for younger readers in grades 5-12th. 

This is Trevor Noah’s personal story about growing up in apartheid South Africa, Trevor was born to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother. At the time of his birth, an interracial marriage was punishable by up to five years in prison.

Trevor spent the early years of his life mostly indoors as his mom took extreme measures to protect him from the government. 

Not only is this Trevor’s story, but also his story of mother’s unwavering love that led him to overcome so many obstacles. Her drive led him to a more promising future and a life filled with love, imagination, and humor, despite the circumstances. This adapation also gives younger audiences the opportunity to learn more about the history of South Africa, apartheid, the nation’s colonial history and culture, plus, getting to know Trevor on a deeper level – not just as that really funny guy from the Daily Show.

This is a really important book. I’m so grateful it was adapted for younger readers to introduce them to the unfortunate history of apartheid and what it did to the nation of South Africa and its people. But its also an important book about family, culture, not giving up on your dreams,  and always believing that brighter moments will come as long as you have the dedication and conviction to make it happen.

Trevor Noah is a South African  comedian, television host, producer, writer, political commentator, and actor. He is the host of  The Daily Show, an American satirical news program on Comedy Central.

Noah began appearing on American late night talk shows and in 2014, he became the Senior International Correspondent for The Daily Show.  In 2015, he succeeded long-time host Jon Stewart. His autobiography, Born A Crime, was published in 2016 to critical acclaim by critics and fans.

Trevor Noah

Reviews:

Kirkus Review

Commonsense Media

Review

NY Times

Adaptations for Young Readers

Awards:

Chicago Public Library Best Books 2019

In 2017 I had the opportunity to see Trevor Noah in conversation with Chris Jackson: https://www.nypl.org/events/programs/2017/03/10/trevor-noah

It was truly inspiring to hear him speak about his upbringing in such an eloquent, honest and, of course, very funny way while teaching us all about apartheid history and the unfortunate events he experienced during his formative years and his mother’s unwavering, unconditional love that bolstered him through that time.

Photo by Elisa Garcia

My friend Asuncion and I enjoyed our time at Trevor Noah’s NYPL event in conversation with Chris Jackson about Born A Crime: Stories From A South African Childhood.

Elisa A. Garcia is a Supervising Librarian of Teen Services at the New York Public Library. She is motivated to foster a love of reading in reluctant teen readers and therefore strives to introduce them to a diverse world and experiences through books. Mentoring new librarians, Elisa has savored the opportunity to broaden her scope in promoting diversity in librarianship by building on her love to help our communities and instilling in others the passion she has for libraries and readers as a whole.