Zoё grew up in the suburb of Scarborough, a prestigious coastal resort-type town in Cape Town’s “Deep South”. She received a good education, and attended reputable schools, later studying fashion design at college. Zoё always considered herself “alternative” and although she had a privileged upbringing, chose an alternative lifestyle and joined the Rastafarian community. She bought a house in nearby Ocean View and followed the Rasta culture instead of the traditions and lifestyle she was born into. Zoё felt at home in her community despite sometimes receiving strange looks from some of the locals. Zoё later moved into a wendy house in the informal settlement of Red Hill, located between Scarborough and Simon’s Town, and here she lives with her husband and five children. Her eldest son is 13, with a second son aged 9. Zoё also has a 7-year-old son, a daughter, Zaia (4) and Alakai, who is turning 3 in January.

One of Zoё’s Red Hill neighbours informed her about the opportunity for book-sharing training offered by the local NPO, Living Hope. When Zoё entered the Living Hope container where the book-sharing training was being held, she immediately felt right at home. Zoё says: “The other ladies were always smiling at me. I was always greeted with warmth which I really appreciated.“

Zoё tells us: “Because I love doing activities with my children, I was very excited for Alakai – my youngest – to become involved. Our library in Red Hill is exceptionally small, and as we frequently visit it, it has become overly familiar to us. The book-sharing is something that would be completely different for my son. I jumped at the chance as soon as I heard about it, as there are not many fun things for children to do in this area.”

Zoё shares what an exciting experience book-sharing was for Alakai. She had only to mention “book class”, and Alakai would grab his little comfort lappie, ready to run down the hill to the training session. The book-sharing sessions were a beautiful way to familiarise him with books, and the training was also a wonderful preparation for Alakai, getting him into a routine of going somewhere in the morning, which will ultimately prepare him for when he starts crèche. In addition, this was an introduction for him to the literacy world which helped Alakai be more engaged with books than before. Zoё explains: “Before book-sharing, books were like playthings for Alakai. He would use them as props and to build structures, whereas when we went to the book-sharing training, he learned to sit down quietly, hold the book correctly and focus on the pages in front of him.”

Zoё found the bonding experience with Alakai during the training to be particularly special, and she thinks it was for him as well, as he learnt that every week, he would have a special outing with his mom. Even though she is around Alakai every day, Zoё admits that it is easy to let the day go by without spending quality time together. “Alakai will be out in the garden, and I have housework and other things to sort out, but the book-sharing time is always ‘our special, dedicated time’ where we will sit together and engage one-on-one. It is precious because, as one of five children, it can be difficult to find quiet time with Alakai, just us two.”

Shortly after starting with book-sharing, Zoё saw how rapidly Alakai’s vocabulary increased and noticed how he also began to make up stories, using his imagination to the full. Zoё says that Alakai developed a good understanding of feelings and emotions, matching expressions with characters in the book, which she believes he missed out on as he was born during the pandemic when individuals were obligated to wear face masks in public. “The problem is, with all the masks, children could not learn to recognise facial expressions, whether it be an animal in a book or a person in real life. It was great for Alakai to learn how we reflect our feelings into stories as well. His favourite book is the Hug book. He loves the Hug book, and he was given one of his own at the graduation ceremony, which he was extremely excited about,” Zoё shares.

Alakai has not only developed a love for book-sharing time with his mom, but he also has an increased respect for books and their value. Before book-sharing, Alakai would build a tower, using a book as part of the structure – as a toy – but Zoё reports that he is gentle with the book now, holding it close to his body and turning the pages delicately. “Getting Alakai to sit down and understand the concept of a book was absent before we started the book-sharing training. Look, he is only two and a half, but now he understands the value of what books are supposed to be for. Another positive is that book-sharing has changed our relationship for the better, too. We now have this ‘thing’ we do together that we didn’t do before. The book-sharing experience has just been so positive for us.”