From School Library Journal
Grade 5-8-A chatty recounting of an auto/bicycle trek through Kenya and into Tanzania. A spin-off from Classroom Connect Inc.'s "Quest" series, this pleasant "AfricaQuest" journal is undated and episodic, and the incidents included appear random and unrelated (the Internet site might provide cohesive glue). As the team follows the Great Rift Valley, Allen joyfully records meetings with several tribal groups, numerous animals, rhino "bodyguards," and biologists studying baboons and hyenas and attempting to "educate" intrusive lions. Her enthusiasm is evident, as are her emotional responses to the encounters and sightings. The illustrations consist of a few small black-and-white photos and soft black-and-white drawings, in keeping with the "journal" effect. Also included are several pages of animal data, a note from the author explaining her choice of subjects and some of the logistics of the trek, and a generalized map of sites visited. (By the by, Allen's explanation of the origin of the Rift is in error-it was caused by plates pulling apart, not colliding.) Try this gentle effort along with such spirited records as Bo Zaunders's Crocodiles, Camels & Dugout Canoes (Dutton, 1998), Lawrie Raskin and Debora Pearson's 52 Days by Camel (Annick, 1998), or, in a more scientific vein, Nic Bishop's lively Digging for Bird-Dinosaurs (Houghton, 2000) or Jane Goodall's intense The Chimpanzees I Love (Scholastic, 2001).
Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NYCopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
Gr. 4-8. Breathless with excitement, a young biologist describes her close encounters in the wild with animals and people (in that order) on a five-week camping trip to Kenya and Tanzania. Led by a smart local guide, she travels with a small group in a rickety SUV and by bike. Her present-tense narrative brings readers right there. An elephant towers over the jeep. A rhino is ready to charge. Enormous herds of zebra and wildebeest stretch to the horizon. In her tent at night she hears bloodcurdling screams and low growling roars from lions nearby. And, oh yes, she spends time with the Hadza people, the last true hunter-gatherers of East Africa, whose way of life is rapidly disappearing. The message is sometimes slick ("they're not barbarians, but friends and family"). However, Allen never plays the role of superior sophisticated Westerner in search of her primitive self. Thrilled by the animal adventures, young conservationists will also think about the issues Allen raises: of course, we want to conserve the amazing animals, but what about the people who need electricity?
Hazel RochmanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
