The Best Meal Ever

by Sindiwe Magona, Sindiwe Magona

This is a heartwarming story filled with love and imagination and the importance of hope - all amidst trying times. Sizwe, a young woman, is expected to tend to her brothers and sisters as their mother has gone away to tend to their ill grandmother.Her father is working away from home and there is no food in the house. Sizwe keeps calm and uses her ingenuity. She lights the paraffin stove, puts water in a pot and prays.......

Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Sindiwe Magona is a South African writer.

Magona is a native of the former Transkei region. She grew up in Bouvlei near Cape Town, where she worked as a domestic and completed her secondary education by correspondence. Magona later graduated from the University of South Africa and earned her Masters of Science in Organisational Social Work from Columbia University.

She starred as Singisa in the isiXhosa classic drama Ityala Lamawele.

She worked in various capacities for the United Nations for over 20 years, retiring in 2003.

In the 2013 computer-animated adventure comedy film Khumba she was the voice actor for the character Gemsbok Healer.

She is Writer-in-Residence at the University of the Western Cape and has been a visiting Professor working at Georgia State University.

Reviews

[Global Literature in Libraries Initiative]

Set in Gugulethu and signalling to the persisting inequalities that define both this Apartheid-era established township and South Africa as a whole, The Best Meal Ever! by Sindiwe Magona is a heart-warming story of hope amidst trying times. Written for children ages 7-9, this picture book features beautiful watercolor illustrations by Paddy Bouma.

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[Tumelo Moleleki · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sad yet relatable story about ho e pata ka boroko...
I think Siziwe's plan was so very brilliant and divine in the way it worked.

[Courtney Dyer · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Best Meal Ever! is a beautiful post-apartheid South African picture book about a girl named Siziwe who is looking after her younger brothers and sisters while their mom is away in the village caring for grandpa while he’s ill. Mother’s monsters are very hungry, but there isn’t any food left in the cupboard and all of the money has run out. What will Siziwe do? She marches into the kitchen, lights the primus stove, snatches up a big pot, pours some water in it, and puts the pot onto the stove preparing to make the best meal ever- the meal of hope.

This book is most appropriate for an older audience of children ages 7-10. The text is long and wordy and deals with themes such as everyday life, poverty, and hope. As a teacher, I would use this book in a cultural unit on South Africa and introduce students to socio-economics. You could even pair it with a lesson on needs vs. wants. For an extension activity, I would have students write about what life would be like if they were in Siziwe’s shoes. Students could also respond to the literature by writing about any of their connections to the story.

[LeAnne · Rating 4 out of 5]

When mama is away and there is nothing to eat, Siziwe keeps the younger ones hopeful by stirring a pot of water on the stove until they fall asleep. Based on a true experience, the story is beautifully illustrated and ends with more than hope.

Available in African languages

[Jax Goss · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of sweet. A bit syrupy for my taste, but you know, nice message.