The Best Gift
This book belongs to
The Best Gift
Illustrated by Chantelle & Burgen Thorne
Designed by Ezra Harerimana
Written by Hani du Toit
Edited by Alison Ziki
with the help of the Book Dash participants in the Virtual Book Dash on 15 May 2021.
ISBN: 978-1-77623-158-4
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). You are free to share (copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format) and adapt (remix, transform, and build upon the material) this work for any purpose, even commercially. The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the following license terms:
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The Best Gift
Jibraan loves building with toy bricks.
Dad says, “That’s very good, Jibraan.
You’ve got a gift for building things!”
What if I have another gift? Jibraan wonders.
“Do I have just one gift Dad?” he asks.
“You’ll only know if you try many things,” says Dad.
“I want to try cricket,” says Jibraan.
He joins the cricket club
at school and learns
to bat and bowl.
He hits the ball hard.
Puuu!
“Wow!”
says Coach Uno.
“What a great batsman you are. You’ve got a gift, Jibraan!”
Wuu!!
Wiii!!
Wiii!!
Waa!!
He smiles at Sumeya and
high-fives her.
“You’re really good, Sumeya.
You have a gift.”
“You didn’t give up, Jibraan. That’s a gift too,”
says Sumeya.
At karate class, Jibraan practises
his katas with Sensai Shaukat.
His friend Sumeya does them well.
“Excellent, Sumeya!” says Sensai Shaukat.
Jibraan tries again. He makes another mistake.
“How was Karate?”
asks Dad.
“I made many mistakes
and I didn’t give up, Dad.
Karate is Sumeya’s gift.”
“You’ll discover other gifts,”
says Dad.
Jibraan wonders
what they are...
I love music. Am I good at music?
“Dad, can I play the drums?” he asks.
“Well, let’s try,” says Dad.
They turn some pots and buckets upside down and get two wooden spoons for
drum sticks.
Jibraan imagines a whole band playing with him. He beats the drum to a simple rhythm.
didadda!
Paa!!
Little Laith rocks back and forth on the chair as Jibraan plays the drums.
Dadum, dadum, dadum,
Dadum didadda dadum.
Wiki Wiki!!!
Wiki Wiki!!!
didadda!
Ding!!
Dadum!!
“That sounds amazing,”
says Dad.
“I love that beat.
You’ve got a gift, Jibraan.”
Jibraan laughs.
He loves discovering
a new talent when he
tries something new.
“This is fun, Dad!
I love my gifts.”
Just then, Little Laith rocks the
chair over and falls to the floor.
Jibraan jumps to help
his baby brother.
“Are you okay, little Laith?”
he asks.
Aaaahh!!
He rubs Little Laith’s head.
He kisses Little Laith’s tears.
“Can I kiss it better,
Little Laith?” he asks.
“Can I hug it better,
Little Laith?”
Dad smiles. “Aha!” says Dad.
“Look how kind and loving you are.
That’s the best gift of all!
That’s the one to practise everyday.”
Jibraan laughs. Little Laith laughs too.
“What’s your gift, Little Laith?” he asks.