Customer Reviews

Muktar and the Camels

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Orphaned and alone in the refugee camp, the Somalian child, Muktar, remembers when his nomadic family once counted their wealth in camels. Trained to care for them, he remembers his father's words, "Camels first, Always camels first. Camels are treasure." His only memento from his father is a gnarled root that he keeps in the pocket of his shorts. His father warned him to use it wisely. There are no camels in the camp until a librarian arrives, leading three camels laden with books for the camp. The thrilled boy discovers that the third camel has a wounded foot.
After unloading and watering the camels, Muktar chews his root into a paste, applies it to the injured camel's foot, and tears up his shirt to bind the wound. He is rewarded by being hired to travel with and care for the camels.


The softly-outlined, beige- toned illustrations capture the essence of a refugee camp with its harsh light and dust. The protagonist's memories,
however, are painted in cool grey tones. The famously ornery camels are depicted quite benignly.

As a Somali refugee living in an orphanage on the border between Kenya and Somalia, Muktar longs deeply for his parents and his former nomadic life-style. His teacher may call him a lazy dreamer, but Muktar still needs to spend time treasuring the memories of his family and their camels as they wandered over the land. A surprise visit from a three-camel convoy delivering books to the orphanage leads to a chance for Muktar to demonstrate his skills in caring for camels and his desire to work with camels.

This unique book brings to life the plight of child refugees from Somalia and the challenges they face in adjusting to a new way of life away from home. The lucid text and beautiful oil paintings work well together in delivering a compelling story about new opportunities in the midst of exceptional hardship.

Muktar sat down to eat his warm bowl of posho. He was in the Iftin Orphanage, a place that was very foreign to his nomadic life. Mr. Hassan, his teacher called out to him and said, "Eat up, lazy fellow." He was a dreamer, but didn't dream of frivolous things, he dreamed of his life with his family and how they used to roam "across the dusty landscape" of Somalia with their camels. He wasn't a lazy boy then. He would gather the camel's dung for their campfires. He remembered his father well and the importance of the camels held in their lives . . . "Camels first. Always camels first. Camels are treasure." His father was a very wise man.

His parents were dead and it was hard not to daydream about them. Mr. Hassan would get on his case for his constant daydreaming. Ismail, Muktar's friend tried to keep him out of trouble. School was not something that Muktar relished, but one day "phut, phut, phut" . . . he heard some camels coming and he came alive. Bisharm Mohamed, a librarian, had brought some books to the orphanage. Of course Muktar was wild with delight, but it was not the books he yearned for, it was the camels. Camel Number Three was injured, but he couldn't get anyone to listen or tend to it. He quickly knelt down to tend to the injury himself. Would anyone help him or would the camel sustain further injury in its journey?

I loved this peaceful story of Muktar, a boy who was somehow out of place in the modern world. The tale was beautiful, graceful and very touching. I think peaceful is the sense I received when Muktar regained his place in the world. The paintings were beautiful and were slightly out of focus, totally capturing the dreamlike quality and personality of the young boy and the camels. In the back of the book there is a very brief notation about Somalian nomads and the camel caravan of the Kenya National Library Service. This is a wonderful book you'll surely want to add to your collection of African cultural books!