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

This review may be a little bias of this book because I am a huge Trevor Noah fan. If you don’t know who he is you can catch a Netflix comedy special or see him on Comedy Central on the Daily Show. When I saw that he had made an adaption for young readers of his original book I was excited to read it to Adeline. She really enjoyed the book and his stories. There was a lot of laughing, I suggest you read it beforehand to make sure you’re ready to answer tough questions. (You can purchase it here)

My recommended age group would be 11 and up. I did read this to my 8-year-old and she grasped the majority of the content. It all depends on how ready and open you are in discussing certain topics.

With all that is going around us, this book was fitting. Trevor Noah touches a lot of heavy topics in a way that a child can understand. He talks about apartheid, policing, systematic racism, domestic abuse, alcoholism, and guns.

Trevor tells his story on how it was like to be brought up in a time where he had to hide who he was. Throughout the book, he describes the aftermath of what apartheid did to him and those around him. He takes us to his life at different stages of life. What is very prominent in the book is his relationship with his mother. This mother-son relationship is so beautiful despite the hardships and bumps they encounter together.

Trevor Noah has an amazing way of telling a story that makes you feel all different emotions. If you haven’t read or listened to the adult version of It’s Trevor Noah: Born a Crime - Stories from a South African Childhood I highly recommend it. This is one of those books that no matter your background you can relate to and enjoy it.