Customer Reviews

A Saint and His Lion: The Story of Tekla of Ethiopia

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

 

 

The editorial review fails to mention that this is a lavishly illustrated picture book, with the drawings by Cecile Sharratt, who also illustrated Shalinar's Song, also published by Paulist Press.

My kids love the story. We are adopting from Ethiopia and wanted to begin teaching our children a bit about Ethiopian culture and history.

I bought this in 2008 for my children. They joined our family through international adoption at the ages of 10 and 13. As their understanding of English improved, they brought to my attention the author's use of the term "galla." This is an offensive term in Ethiopia, and it is directed at the Oromo people. I did not care for the depiction of the Oromo people as savages that needed to be tamed. ("wild tribesmen," "fierce Gallas") My children are neither wild nor fierce, unless you consider their soccer skills - FIERCE - and their amazing ability to adapt to life in a new family, country, and culture - WILD! :)

Perhaps the author did not realize the implication and weight of this word, but it is unfortunate that it is present.


Sincerely,
Sarah C.
mother to three

It was very nice to find a children's book of a lesser-known saint like Tekla. The story is told simply and with vivid details that engaged my kids.

My kids really enjoy this book. We adopted from Ethiopia, and enjoy finding Ethiopian things to fill out house with.

We are hoping to adopt from Ethiopia and have been trying to teach our children (4 and 6 yrs old) more about Africa and Ethiopia. To that end, we've bought the Africa Geopuzzle, which the whole family loves. We've read The Perfect Orange, which is a fantastic book and also Water Hole Waiting (a good book with a suggestion at the end to find a livecam of an African water hole online so you can watch the animals come and go...our kids love that). We found Where Are You Going Manyoni to be a good book (about Zimbabwe rather than Ethiopia) and also Mama Panya's pancakes (about Kenyan village life and food). The only thing we've tried so far that we've been disappointed in has been this book: A Saint and His Lion. I didn't think the illustrations were as good as those in the other books I've mentioned, and the book felt very skimpy in its thin paperback format for $10. Maybe if it had been a bigger hardcover picture book (even for a few dollars more) we would have appreciated it more.

I do think the book tells a story of perseverance and courage, and I may some day come back to it to share the story with my future Ethiopian-born children. But for now, my 4 and 6 year olds are more drawn to the stories and puzzles mentioned above as they learn about Africa. I think possibly they can relate more to the stories about incredibly long walks to school, they can wonder at the amazing animals African children might see as a part of their daily lives, they can imagine the taste of the savory pancakes made with hot peppers and hear the music described in these other books...maybe those things help them to imagine what life is like on a continent halfway around the world, whereas possibly this book about The Saint and His Lion is (intentionally) more farfetched and mystical given its religious nature, and that may make it harder for young children to understand ? I'm not sure. But I do know that they prefer the others and that we're sending this one back.