Customer Reviews

The Baboon King (Readers Circle (Delacorte))

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Morengaru is an out cast. His mother is from the Kikuyu tribe and is father is a Masai. These two tribes are about as different as you can get. The Kikuyu tribe are peaceful farmers and the Masai are hunters. Since Morengaru doesn't really fit into either one of the tribes he eventually decides to live with his mother's tribe. A leopard has been killing their cattle and Morengaru kills the leopard. This wins a place in the hearts of the Kikuyu. Then the unthinkable happens. A young boy playing a prank awakens Morengaru from a deep sleep. Morengaru comes face to face with the boy dressed in the leopard skin. Thinking it is the leopard he kills it only to find out too late it was the young boy. He is kicked out of the tribe. He leaves and joins a group of baboons. He learns their ways and he fights the leader to become the head of the pack. He eventually leaves the baboons and returns to the people realizing he need them. This is an interesting book, not one I normally would have picked up off of the shelf to read.

As a middle school bookclub, we highly recommend The Baboon King. while it is not action-packed, this book has much to offer. It teaches about different cultures, animal behavior, and is a wonderful story about a man who must wonder to ultimately fit in. Through our discussion the book gave us insight into ourselves and the society in which we live. Finally, its a beautifully written translation.

The Baboon King, written by Anton Quintana, is a book about a boy living in African culture. The book takes place in Africa and demonstrates how important family is and shows a connection between human and the wild plains of Africa. This is an interesting and sad book. I personally wouldn't recommend it though.

I wouldn't recommend it, because of the way the book is written. The book shows a lot of animals being killed and describes how they look after they die too much. The boy gets kicked out of both his father's tribe and mother's tribe. He has no friends and no one likes him. It's sad and mean. The book should be more about caring then hatred.

You've my reasons and I've told you why I don't recommend this book. If you want to read a book about African culture or about the wild then this is a good choice for you. If you don't like killing or the wild then I wouldn't read it.

This book is written from the perspective of a young African King's son who learns about treachery, maltreatment, and slavery. I used this book with my elementary (3-5th) students and they really felt the pain of being taken from your own life (in this case a prince) to the life of a slave in the Americas. Very moving, very personal, and a great story.