In his book “My First African Adventure”, author Riaan Manser tells children about the beauty and riches of our continent, Africa.
Based on his true story, Manser uses metaphorical statements and sounds to take the reader through his interesting journey when he toured various African countries on a bicycle. In each chapter, he highlights the lessons and valuable information one needs to learn from different nations, mentioning the food, languages, music, animals, traditions and customs, and drawing the landscapes for each country in the imagination.
“This book is just a perfect way to start raising our children in the spirit of adventure. I want to open their eyes to the world of wonder.
“We want every child to be able to climb into our book, and experience our richness for themselves so they can love, respect and honour Africa, just as we do. Everyone loves adventure, our book is written to unite families in the spirit of adventure.
“I met an astonishing cast of characters on my two-year bike-ride around Africa," explained Manser. This is emphasised in the book as he wrote, ”so I was making new friends every country. Soon I’d have an army of buddies all across Africa.“
Throughout his book he highlights unique forms of hospitality experienced in each country, from being offered a bed to sleep on, a free plate of food and being taught different languages.
The narration also shows the outcome of perseverance, dedication and flexibility as through all the toil, troubles and excitement, Manser focused on completing his adventures as planned, fixing or replacing parts of his bike.
“Then the front wheel was bogged down in sand, now I was really flying over the handlebars, I landed in a heap on the ground, covered in sweat and sand. I just lay there, exhausted and sore. But I couldn’t give up," reads the book as he recalls his harsh arrival in Congo.
Illustrator Martinus van Tee makes it easy for young readers to comprehend the jargon used.
“It was fun and informative to work on the book. I have never been to such an adventure nor visited those countries, but through this book I have knowledge of what’s found where and which languages are spoken in different countries. Since this is a true story, I tried portraying Riaan as he is and all other characters and scenes, using colourful images to emphasise the richness one can enjoy from a simple adventure," said Van Tee.
The book was published in May this year and is available on online stores and is published in both English and Afrikaans. He plans to publish it in other African languages as well.