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Nonkululeko Kunene Adumetey (also known as Nonku) is a loving wife and devoted mother of two happy toddlers. Her children both love singing, storytime, and tasting home-cooked cuisines. When Nonku tastes delicious food, she hums a blissful tune, which she never realized until both her children started humming along.
Nonku was born in the Kingdom of Eswatini, where she lived until she was 16. She left to complete high school in Canada and later moved to the United States to pursue her college education.
Her passion is to inspire her children and all children to celebrate who they are, understand their differences are beautiful, know their diversity is a strength, and believe their voices are should be heard.
Her hero is her late father, Themba Micah Kunene, a man from humble beginnings who worked tirelessly to provide a full life for his eight children. Her father’s unconditional love, wisdom, selflessness, and work ethic inspire the core of Nonku’s principles and life mottos. One of his favorite mottos was "umtsentse uhlaba usamila”, a saying about a strong grass that gets deeply rooted during its early stages of development. The essence of this saying embodies the core of early intervention and teaching young minds early so that they grow up strong and informed about the world. This is what inspires Nonku to write children’s book, to inspire and empower young minds for a greater future.
Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers' Favorite
I Celebrate My Voice: It is Limitless, written by Nonkululeko Kunene Adumetey and illustrated by Mary K. Biswas, is a children's picture book that revolves around a series of affirmations for young readers. Adumetey begins the story with an introduction to the question of what a voice is, the answer to which was a very pleasant surprise to all of us. The first definition of voice is in the obvious use of the vocal cords and/or sign language. Then the story digs deeper showing how voice is so much more than either of these. It is our strengths that are our voices. Dancing, swimming, skating and all sorts of activities that we revel in constitute our own personal voice.
I can count the number of times a children's book went in a direction I could never have guessed. I Celebrate My Voice is a rare gem in the world of kid-lit for a variety of reasons. The message of inclusivity and the affirmation of strength, and how to apply it, are the obvious firsts. However, Nonkululeko Kunene Adumetey also validates a child like my own, who is so painfully shy that her voice makes only a few appearances with strangers. But she has a smile that can light up an entire room, and this smile is her voice. I didn't even come up with that...my child did after we finished the book. Mary K. Biswas breathes life into Adumetey's vision with artwork that is so realistic I initially thought photos were superimposed on illustrated bodies. A full spectrum of primary colors brightens up a diverse group of children in a book that is certain to delight both younger and older readers alike.
