1960s children’s novel: three siblings in South Africa, servant Jojo is a smuggler
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1wotw
I’m trying to identify a children’s book I read from a public library in the 1960s. I believe all of the following details are from the same book, though I can’t be 100% certain.
What I remember:
The story involves three sibling children who travel to South Africa and stay there for several months.
They live in a household with a servant named Jojo, who is eventually revealed to be a villain—I believe a violent smuggler or criminal.
The book includes some didactic or school-type humor, including:
A mnemonic for spelling separate:
“There’s a rat in ‘separate’.”
One child consistently mispronounces “dungarees” as
“doug-maries.”
The children learn about apartheid, and I distinctly remember the pronunciation being explained as
“apart-hate,” which the children comment on as appropriate.
The book was a hardback library book, likely published before the mid-1960s (certainly no later than when I read it).
It felt like a British or British-style children’s adventure/mystery novel, realistic rather than fantasy.
What it is NOT (already ruled out):
Journey to Jo’burg
The Bushbabies
The Butterfly Lion
Secret of the Tiger’s Eye
None of those contain the Jojo/smuggler plot or the mnemonic/pronunciation details.
Because the remembered details are quite specific, I suspect this may be an obscure mid-century library children’s novel that was never widely reprinted. I am quite confident the mnemonic, the “doug-maries” mispronunciation, and the servant named Jojo all come from the same book.
If this rings any bells, I’d be very grateful for suggestions!
What I remember:
The story involves three sibling children who travel to South Africa and stay there for several months.
They live in a household with a servant named Jojo, who is eventually revealed to be a villain—I believe a violent smuggler or criminal.
The book includes some didactic or school-type humor, including:
A mnemonic for spelling separate:
“There’s a rat in ‘separate’.”
One child consistently mispronounces “dungarees” as
“doug-maries.”
The children learn about apartheid, and I distinctly remember the pronunciation being explained as
“apart-hate,” which the children comment on as appropriate.
The book was a hardback library book, likely published before the mid-1960s (certainly no later than when I read it).
It felt like a British or British-style children’s adventure/mystery novel, realistic rather than fantasy.
What it is NOT (already ruled out):
Journey to Jo’burg
The Bushbabies
The Butterfly Lion
Secret of the Tiger’s Eye
None of those contain the Jojo/smuggler plot or the mnemonic/pronunciation details.
Because the remembered details are quite specific, I suspect this may be an obscure mid-century library children’s novel that was never widely reprinted. I am quite confident the mnemonic, the “doug-maries” mispronunciation, and the servant named Jojo all come from the same book.
If this rings any bells, I’d be very grateful for suggestions!
2vorkosigan
>1 wotw: Is it possible that you're conflating a few books you read back then? Enid Blyton's Island of Adventure, published in 1944, has a servant named JoJo who's described as "villainous" on some websites, but it's set in Cornwall. It has two kids visiting two other kids during the school holidays.
3wotw
@vorkosigan : I feel pretty sure it's all one book, but I know enough about human memory to admit that I might be conflating. I'll have a look at the Enid Blyton book tomorrow and see if it fits. Thank you so much!
4wotw
@vorkosigan : Yes, that is definitely the book I was looking for. I obviously did conflate it with another book, but the Jo-Jo story was the main thing I was looking for, so you've solved 80% of my problem. This is terrific of you. Thanks again.
5vorkosigan
>4 wotw: Yay! You're welcome.
I'll keep looking for the South Africa part (whether you keep this open or create a new post).
I'll keep looking for the South Africa part (whether you keep this open or create a new post).
6rarm
I found a reference to "dung-maries" in The Mystery of the Auction Trunk, 1956, which is set in New Hampshire.
Some South African set books of the correct era:
Venture to South Africa
Candy Finds the Clue
Tessa in South Africa (apparently has smugglers)
Secrets of the Tiger's Eye
The Mamba's Precipice
Some South African set books of the correct era:
Venture to South Africa
Candy Finds the Clue
Tessa in South Africa (apparently has smugglers)
Secrets of the Tiger's Eye
The Mamba's Precipice
