Illustrated by Petra Röhr-Rouendaal
Letang has recently come to England from Botswana and has bouts of homesickness, but her friendship with Julie and the fun they have together help her over these. Julie is a little girl with cerebral palsy. Sometimes we see her in her ‘wheelie’. Sometimes she uses her crutches, joining in and doing what the other children are doing. Entertaining and realistic.
Positive Images of Disability in Children’s Books, Young Book Trust
These three books were written for the Longman Book Project. You may still find the odd copy available in Welsh.
Ffrind Newydd Letang
Traffertth I Letang A Sioned
Letang A Sioned Yn Dod I’r Adwy
Winter……
Letang’s New Friend begins with Letang’s sadness during her first days at school in England. She has left her grandmother and friends back in Botswana and her head is full of memories and pictures of how life used to be. However the excitement of snow and the special friendship offered by Julie, a child who uses a wheelchair, help her overcome her shyness.
Spring…
In Trouble for Letang and Julie the girls are looking after Nibbles, the class hamster, when it jumps out of Julie’s hands and escapes. Some of the children blame Julie and call her names. The class teacher uses the incident to talk with her class about hurtful name-calling and her own childhood memories. The children devise a clever way of enticing Nibbles back into his cage.
Summer…
In Letang and Julie Save the Day the class is suddenly faced with the unexpected on a summer outing. The two girls use their knowledge of the countryside – from both Botswana and England – to come to the rescue.
