Trevor Romain

Bullies are indeed a pain in the brain. This book gives good tips for kids on how to deal with bullies, but not in a pedantic, heavy way. The author has a good touch, and uses humor, art, and his own blend of self help for kids, to pass on suggestions.

Picked this book up at the Kensington Day of the Book Festival 2025.

If you are South African, from the North Eastern suburbs of Johannesburg, and were born before 1985, this is the book for you. Actually, if the first two apply, this book is for you no matter how young you are. In fact, coming right down to it, only the first condition is really necessary.
The JoBurg buses [the few that actually arrive] are still the same colour as those in Romain's memory, Maryvale College is still going strong and so is the Maryvale Catholic Church, and neither Louis Botha show more Avenue or Orange Grove has been renamed.
Putco buses, lucky packets, Punch washing powder, Personality magazine, Charles Fortune's cricket commentaries, army call up papers - there's something here to appeal to all South Africans regardless of where they live. A beautifully drawn and wonderfully evocative look at the 'bad old days' by Trevor Roman, for whom they were not so bad after all. show less

Trevor Romain has written a surprisingly humorous and educational book. Although it’s mostly common sense because it’s written to kids it should actually be very helpful. Along with the wonderful advice on how to create schedules, avoiding excuses, and the positivity that comes with doing a job well done, the art work that is included to illustrate everything adds a layer of amusement that should help kids want to read this book.

There are intelligent but fun mantras that parents can show more print out and put up near where their child does their homework to help motivate them. As a parent I learned quite a few things from this book on ways to help my child make homework time easier.

It’s not just for young kids, high school students and even college students would do well to read this book too and apply the lessons to make studying easier. I also loved the healthy snack tips so you can avoid the inevitable sugar crash that will prevent you from working properly by eating the wrong thing.

If you have a child, teen, college student or if you fit any of these categories yourself you really need to check this book out. It’s not very long which will make it easier on those short attention-spans and I bet putting this book into practice will pay off with some very good grades! show less

Loving, Learning and Laughing in South Africa is not, to my mind, as much fun as the first book Romain drew, Random Kak - maybe because the first was more general? However there is still a lot to enjoy in this walk down memory lane [or should that read bus ride down Louis Botha Avenue] and the visual references to the little things once so familiar and now almost forgotten. A reminder that recent South African history is more than just politics, apartheid and revolution.