From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3-Berkeley, an activist in the Born Free Foundation that opposes zoos and other forms of animal captivity, states in her author's note that this book was written to "bring awareness and funds" to the foundation. The spirit of the Maasai man, a symbol of a person in tune with the natural world, travels through a zoo humming to caged animals, allowing their spirits to experience what life was like in the wild. The poetic, sophisticated text is paired with somewhat obvious illustrations. The full-color pen, crayon, and acrylic art contributes to the heavy-handedness of the text: most pictures show a very unhappy animal in a vertical strip on the left and, on the right, a full-page picture of the same creature in its natural environment, obviously much happier. Although many will sympathize with the "animals belong in the wild" philosophy, one needs to question the use of a picture book as the proper vehicle for a very strong polemic.
Barbara Buckley, Rockville Centre Public Library, NY
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Barbara Buckley, Rockville Centre Public Library, NY
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Locked in their cages, the zoo animals hear the song of the Maasai Man--an African herdsman in native dress--and their spirits roam free with him as they remember their wild natural homes. For most of the animals, home is the African savannah, but somehow the Maasai Man also calls to the tiger about India and to the polar bear about the Arctic. This is another romanticized stereotype of primitive Africa. Berkeley says she's always been fascinated by the images of the "scenery and animals" in this land of "mystery," and clearly, the people are a generic part of that scenery. What will hold kids is the contrast between captivity and freedom in each double-page spread. On the left there's a closeup of a suffering animal in a cage--a lion, an elephant, a gorilla, a python, imprisoned in too small a space; opposite is a view of the animal roaming free in its natural habitat. Hazel Rochman.
