The Ear, the Eye and the Arm [Hardcover]

Nancy Farmer (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 311 pages
• Publisher: Orchard Books; First Edition edition (1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 043945445X
• ISBN-13: 978-0439454452
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (319 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,241,028 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Nancy Farmer has written three Newbery Honor Books: The Ear the Eye and the Arm; A Girl Named Disaster; and The House of the Scorpion, which, in 2002, also won the National Book Award. Other books include Do You Know Me, The Warm Place, the Trolls trilogy and three picture books for young children. She grew up on the Arizona-Mexico border and lives with her family in Arizona.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nancy Farmer: Sci-fi children's author extraordinaire, January 1, 2004

By 

E. R. Bird "Ramseelbird" (Manhattan, NY) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm (Paperback)

The best futuristic sci-fi tale for children set in Zimbabwe I've ever read. Which is unfair backhanded praise for a book that, in my opinion, should've been awarded the Newberry Award without question. Sometimes I like to pretend that I'm at a party and a savvy Hollywood producer comes up to me and asks for the number one children's book that should be optioned for a movie. Batta bing, I recommend this book. In it, you have a well-developed plot containing characters of amazing depth. No two-dimensional stick figures for this children's novel. The setting is more than unique. It is unparalleled. Farmer's ingenuity has created a book that speaks volumes. Not only is it an enjoyable edge-of-your-seat mystery, but there's a distinctly moral core to the book. It's the rare story that can make a person actually enjoy a section on (believe it or not) "courage". If your children can read, give them this book. If your children cannot read, give them this book anyway and teach them to do so with it. There is no higher praise I can give.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A MUST READ BOOK!, November 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm (Library Binding)

This is a terrific book. It is set in the future in Africa. Tendai, Rita, and Kuda who are the sons and daughter of Amadeus Matsika, the country's Cheif of Security. Matsika has wiped out almost all of the gangs except one, the Masks. After being kidnapped by the She Elephant, Tendai, Rita, and Kuda have to find a way home or they might fall victim to a terrible fate. They finally escape with the help of Trashman, a man in his twenties with the mind of a small child. They are taken to a place called Resthaven. Resthaven is like a small country, but it is set in the past. They live in the ways of the ancestors. After the children are found missing, Matsika's wife hires three private eyes, literally. These three have special powers. One has super strong eyes, another super strong ears, and finally super long limbs. As this story unfolds, see how the tale of Tendai, Rita, and Kuda changes your perspective on life.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sci-Fi Suspense Thriller!, August 29, 2005

By 

Marcia Kramer - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm (Paperback)

This is the greatest book I have ever read. I have never read any other Nancy Farmer book before, but I automatically fell in love with it. Usually I can't finish a regular chapter book, but in the course of 5 days I fniished the whole, entire book. Here's the plot without giving anything away: It is Zimbabwe, 2194, and children of the Chief of Security who live a sheltered life, embark on a magical and suspenseful adventure which includes getting kidnapped by a drug and alcohol ring, being enslaved in a toxic wasteland, going back in time to a traditional African village and making friends with a giant and funny mentally challenged man. Since these children went on this adventure without their parents permission, the parents think the children are missing and call upon the world's three greatest sleuths, the Eye (who can see so clearly he can see how the world is made up molecules, particles and atoms) the Ear (who can hear a scream or a whisper from thirty miles away) and the Arm (who has unhuman emotional instincts). Both the children and the detectives adventures will intertwine with Shona mythology and will embark on an amazing journey through a digitalized Zimbabwe of the future and the preserved Zimbabwe of the past.