It's Trevor Noah: Born a Crime - Stories from a South African Childhood

It’s Trevor Noah: Born a Crime - Stories from a South African Childhood (Adapted for Young Readers)

by Trevor Noah

Publisher: Delacorte Press, NY (Apr. 2019); Hardcover, 304 p.

Ages: Middle Grade (4-8)           Lexile: 780

Geographical Setting: South Africa

Time Period: Contemporary

My son had to read the ‘adult’ version for his Africana class last semester.  I didn’t know that the NYT bestseller had an adapted version for young readers until I brought that version home and my son pointed it out to me.  Needless to say, I went back to the library and got the right version for him.  However, the rest of the family read this version - and we all loved it.   We already knew who Trevor Noah is as we had been watching The Daily Show religiously since 2012, when my daughter’s We The People teacher told her class they should add the show on their watch list for news.  At the time, the show was hosted by Jon Stewart; Trevor took over as host in 2015.

Summary:

Born a Crime?  What does that mean?  Trevor’s mom is black and his dad is white.  Under the laws of Apartheid, it was illegal to have any kind of interracial relationships, let alone have a child of mixed race.  Hence, Trevor Noah was illegal in his own country.

With his signature wit, sharpness and self- effacing humor, Trevor recounts the numerous relatable and engaging stories of his childhood, even when things ended horribly.  He goes into detail about the various ways he would get in trouble with his mom and grandmother, with the boys in the various neighborhoods he lived in because he was an ‘outsider’, and eventually with the law because of his petty crimes.  He talks about growing up under the last years of Apartheid, but the impact it still had on his youth.  He discusses in depth his relationship with his mother, birth father and volatile step-father.

It's not easy to read about all the hardships Trevor went through due to family and law.  In the end, readers will come away a with deeper understanding about Apartheid and the social ramifications of racism, sexism, and poverty.

As this book has been adapted for young readers, the main differences are the lack of profanity and  the toned down version of some of his stories, specifically his time in jail.  It’s unfortunate that there are no illustrations or snapshots of Trevor, except for the one of him and his mother on the back cover.  I believe it would have helped readers understand the areas discussed with a map of Johannesburg. Below are two maps I found that will show the places Trevor lived and discussed.

Johannesburg and Districts

Johannesburg Provinces

Before each chapter Trevor has a one to two page history type lesson that relates to what he portrays.  At the end the publisher gives a brief history of Apartheid and a list “of the most significant laws ... reinforcing the separation between people of different races” (p. 285).

Powerful & Thought provoking Quotes:

“Apartheid was genius at convincing people who were the overwhelming majority to turn on each other. Apart hate … You separate people into groups and make them hate one another so you can control them.” (p. 3)

“The triumph of democracy over apartheid is sometimes called the Bloodless Revolution. It is called that because very little white blood was spilled. Black blood ran in the streets.” (p. 12)

“In America you had the forced removal of the native peoples onto reservations coupled with slavery followed by segregation. Imagine all three of those things happening to the same group of people at the same time. That was apartheid.” (p. 20)

“As a kid I understood that people were different colors, but in my head white and black and brown were like types of chocolate. Dad was the white chocolate, mom was the dark chocolate, and I was the milk chocolate. But we were all just chocolate. I didn't know any of it had anything to do with “race.” I didn't know what race was. My mother never referred to my dad as white or to me as mixed. So when the other kids in Soweto called me “white,” even though I was light brown, I just thought they had their colors mixed up, like they hadn't learned them properly.” (p. 52)

“My mom raised me as if there were no limitations on where I could go or what I could do. When I look back I realize she raised me like a white kid—not white culturally, but in the sense of believing that the world was my oyster, that I should speak up for myself, that my ideas and thoughts and decisions mattered.” (p. 75)

“There is also this to consider: The name Hitler does not offend a black South African because Hitler is not the worst thing a black South African can imagine. …. But if black South Africans could go back in time and kill one Person, Cecil Rhodes would come up before Hitler. If Native Americans could go back in time and kill one person, it would probably be Christopher Columbus or Andrew Jackson.” (p. 188)

“If I don’t punish you, the world will punish you even worse. The world doesn’t love you. If the police get you, the police don’t love you. When I beat you, I’m trying to save you. When they beat you, they’re trying to kill you.” (p. 236)

**More quotes from the adult version with page numbers can be found at Medium.com.

Nonfiction Read-A-Likes:

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson. Written through a series of poems, Woodson describes life growing up in South Carolina and New York in the 1960s and 1970s during the Civil Rights Movement and Jim Crow. (Grades 4-8)

Promise of Change by Jo Ann Allen Boyce.  As the default spokesperson for the Clinton 12 (Tennessee), for four months 14 year old Jo Ann led the black students to integrate into an all white school one year before the Little Rock 9. (Grades 4-8)

Nelson Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom by Chris Van Wyk.  In this abridged version of the autobiography, kids will learn about Mandela's tribal life, his struggles to end apartheid, his life in prison and how he became the first black president of South Africa. (KG-3)

Hector: A Boy, A Protest, and the Photograph that Changed Apartheid by Adrienne Wright.  Told from the point of view of Hector, his sister, and the photographer who took the famous snapshot on June 16, 1976.  How did Hector die on this day at a peaceful protest march. (KG-3)

Fiction Read-A-Likes:

Blood Runner by James Riordan.  This strong and emotional story depicts life growing up black in South Africa under Apartheid.  The author shows the reality of the various ways they had to fight to gain their freedom.  For the protagonist’s brother it was through violent fighting.  But the protagonist proved he could be better than the white man by winning an Olympic gold medal and meeting President Mandela. (Grades 6+)

Afrika by Colleen Craig.  In this realistic fiction, Kim (13 years old) visits South Africa with her mother..  Meeting her relatives for the first time, she realizes that the history of this nation affects her more than she thinks. (Grades 6+)

Out of Bounds by Beverley Naidoo.  Short stories describing life in South Africa for the various races and ethnic groups under the discriminatory laws placed on them from 1948 to 2000.  (Grades 4-8)

    

    

Teacher Resources:

GradeSaver is a one shop stop dream for any one who wants to learn more about Born A Crime.  There’s just too much on this site to mention.  Please check it out.  The video summary is an added bonus.

LitCharts (created by SparkNotes) is another site like GradeSaver.

To Learn More about Trevor Noah or Apartheid:

From the pages to student ears. CBS This Morning (June 12, 2018).  Interview with Trevor on how the book is being used in high schools as part of their curriculum.

Hobson, Jeremy. (2019, Jun 4). Trevor Noah’s Lesson to Young People. Hear & Now, NPR. Interview and Book Excerpt

Invictus directed by Clint Eastwood.  Starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon in the 2009 biographical sports drama based on the 2008 book Playing the Enemy by John Carlin. 

Russo, Maria. (2019, Apr 26). Trevor Noah Thinks Kids Can Handle the Truth. New York Times.  An interview with Trevor Noah about adapting the adult version of his best seller for young readers. Interview

What Should I Read Next?  A list of nonfiction and fiction books for both youth and adults about Apartheid.

For a list of YA adaptations of best selling adult nonfiction see the list published by Book Riot in 2017, My Purse Strings blog from March 18, 2020 and Brightly's 10 Best list.  Many of the books listed overlap, but there are some differences.

Works Cited:

Noah, Trevor. (2019). It's Trevor Noah: Born A Crime - Stories from a South African Childhood (Adapted for Young Readers). NY, Delacorte Press.

left: Noah with mom; right: The Daily Show host