With coronavirus cases hitting another daily record high the day after Veteran’s Day, Americans seem to be heading for local and national shutdowns once again. Confined at home, people have been looking for some type of entertainment to keep their spirits up. One show in particular that has kept us entertained in these crazy times is the Daily Social Distancing Show, hosted by author and comedian Trevor Noah – a play on words from his pre-COVID program, The Daily Show, that has been going on since 1996 with Noah becoming host for the first time in 2015. It airs on Comedy Central and it is a satirical news program that informs viewers while making jokes and poking fun at famous or political figures or events. It is a show enjoyable for all ages that I would highly recommend as a fun way to inform yourself.
However, Trevor Noah is not just the host of this TV program; he is also an acclaimed author of the bestselling autobiography Born a Crime. Stories from a South African Childhood, published by Spiegel and Grau in 2016, which quickly became a #1 New York Times bestseller. This funny but inspiring coming-of-age memoir narrates Trevor’s “adventures” of growing up in South African as the son of a mix-raced couple while it criticizes the world around him in life under apartheid. For sure a page-turner, the sad and happy times of Trevor’s childhood experiences open the eyes of the reader about life during and right after apartheid in South Africa. It also brings up relevant topics to today such as racism and discrimination as well as police brutality. He grew up with a single mother in the house as his Swiss-German father left when Trevor was very young because it was a crime to be with an African woman. It was dangerous for a light-skinned kid to be seen with his mother. He learned at a very young age that language was a good way to hide his racial differences with other African tribes. The book can be applied to life in America and enjoyed by people of all ages. It is a very fun story that will make adults or elderly feel like kids or teens again. Also, kids and teens reading the book will relate to going through the same problems or issues Trevor as they read about his mischievous adventures. It is a book I highly recommend if you are looking for a gift for any family member. You can buy the book in paperback at our local bookstore, Odyssey Bookshop.

(4.5 out of 5 paws)