Customer Reviews

Uncommon Traveler: Mary Kingsley in Africa

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Don Brown, author and illustrator of "Uncommon Traveler," excels at the non-fiction picture book. In his newest, he's told and illustrated the tale of Mary Kingsley, a single woman who traveled Africa alone in the late 18OO's. He makes good use of lively quotes from her journals, and keeps the tale to just the liveliest parts--Mary swimming with hippos, canoing with crocodiles, and falling into animal traps. He also lets kids know about her lonely childhood, how she took care of her invalid mother, and of her freedom at 30 from family responsibilities--the time when her adventures began. This book is good for everyone, but would be particularly useful for teachers and libraries, interested in sharing non-fiction stories about adventurous girls. The art in the book is distinctive and the prose style clean and lively. I also enjoyed Don Brown's"Rare Treasure: Mary Anning and Her Remarkable Discoveries," about a girl-fossil hunter, one of the best fossil-hunters ever.

Those who know Mary Kingsley probably never thought there would be a children's book about her, but why not? Her classic "Travels in West Africa" is still in print after over 100 years, and deservedly so (please see my review). This is a fine book for children, especially because its true-life Victorian heroine did something that most modern people wouldn't do, i.e., she traveled, on her own, though mostly unexplored Africa (Gabon to be precise), and afterwards became a very popular writer and speaker. Hopefully children who read this will someday go on to read Kingsley in her own words. [One small note: terminology has changed a bit, by "West Africa" Kingsley refers to what we would today call the Atlantic coast region of Central Africa.]

The Uncommon Traveler was written and illustrated by Don Brown. Don Brown was a professional illustrator. According to the School Library Journal, they called him " a current pacesetter who has put the finishing touches on the standards for storyographies." Don Brown's first book was RUTH LAW THRILLS A NATION.
This book is a non-fiction picture book, as well as a historical realism. This book is set in the past, an event, which is Mary's exploration of Africa. This book explains Mary Kingsley's childhood that gives her the courage and motivation for her travels to Africa. Mary is a heroic woman, who shows her strength throughout the book. This book describes her adventures in Africa, which she traveled alone and not listening to the warnings from others. This books also shows that dreams do come true and that you can
achieve your dreams, no matter what obstacles that you come across.
While growing up, Mary never attended school or never played with other children. Even though, Mary was alone, she was still happy. Mary mentioned, "I had a great, amusing world of my own: the books in Father's Library." These books as mentioned in the book were her companions and teachers, since she was housebound. At the age of thirty, Mary was free from her duties, when her parents passed away. Growing up, Mary had read books about her father's adventures and inspired by her father's journeys, and the books that she had read, Mary wanted to travel to Africa.

In 1892, at the age of thirty, Mary Kingsley's parents died, and for the first time in her life Mary was free to do whatever she wanted. Her childhood had been bleak and solitary. She was completely housebound. Mary never went to school or played with other children. Her father traveled all over the world and was rarely home, and she spent all her time keeping house and nursing her sick and bedridden mother. But this spirited girl made a life for herself in her father's library. "Books were her companions and teachers." So, after her parent's death, and inspired by the travel and adventure books she loved, Mary did what was considered unthinkable for a proper lady of Victorian England, she set off alone to visit mysterious and dangerous West Africa..... Don Brown has chronicled the life and wonderful adventures of Mary Kingsley in his introductory picture-book biography. His straightforward and engaging text is full of history, drama, humor, and Mary's own words, and complemented by charming, evocative watercolor artwork. Together word and art tell a fascinating and entertaining story of a remarkable and clever woman who took charge of her life and never looked back. Mr Brown includes an author's note at the end to enhance and complete the story, and a bibliography of additional books about Ms Kingsley and her amazing African excursions. Perfect for youngsters 5-9, Uncommon Traveler is a simple, yet spellbinding masterpiece you don't want to miss.

The beginning of this book looks rather gloomy for Mary, eventhough she seems quite happy while she performs all of her many duties. "Mary's narrow life as handyman, nursemaid, servant, and aide went on for days, for weeks, for years" (Brown). After the death of her parents Mary was free to travel. She had been "inspired by her father's journeys and the travel books she loved" this inspired her to travel to West Africa (Brown). She saw and participated in many different things during her trip. Once she returned from Africa she wrote about her journey and shared it with others. This children's picture book is an excellent source for libraries to have. Children can read about the different culture and adventures that Mary experienced.

This book written by Don Brown is a wonderful children's book. In this story, set in 1870, Mary Kingsley uses her childhood to motivate her travels to Africa. Mary begins the story as a child, who is taking care of her ill mother. Her father travels a lot, and is rarely home. Although Mary never attended school she loves to read and uses this to escape. Mary, now an adult travels to Africa which was a big accomplishment for a woman at that time. The book tells some of her experiences in Africa. Without revealing what happens at the end, I will tell you that Mary has many experiences in this children's book. She takes the reader through her life. The illustrations in the book help the reader visualize Mary's life. This is not my favorite children's book, but I would highly recommend this book to any parent or child. It kept my interest and it is sure to keep yours.

Like he did with his other wonderful children's books about Mary Anning, Alice Ramsey and Ruth Law, interesting, fascinating and heroic women all, Mr. Brown takes a brave woman most people have never heard of and turns her story into an inspiring tale that will lift the heart of all children from four to eighty-four. Englishwoman Mary Kingslely had been virtually house bound nursing her ill mother, even denied school, but when her parents passed away in her thirtieth year she was finally free, so to speak. She'd spent much of her life reading travel books in her father's library and it was travel she wanted to do. She settled on the idea of going to West Africa, a place unheard of for a single woman to go. But wearing her proper Victorian clothes, high necked, long sleeved shirt with a heavy skirt that almost hit the ground, she set out and had many adventures in West Africa.

This is a book about adventure and I try to point that out to my almost three-year-old son Devon. He is a bit young for the book, but his mother and I feel that books are the lifeblood of a child's future and we surround him with them. Books, books and more books for our son and this is one of the better ones. He will be learning to read with it.

"Uncommon Traveler: Mary Kingsley in Africa" is truly an inspiring story, making it a must-have illustrated book for home and school libraries.

There are so many things I want to say about the amazing Mary Kingsley that I hardly know which direction to take first. In no particular order, here I go!

1. I first learned about Mary Kingsley this past summer when I was re-alphabetizing the biography section. One book I found was "Travels in West Africa" by Mary Kingsley. A woman traveling alone in Africa in the 1890s? How odd! How fascinating! I began looking into other books by and about Mary and found this one.

2. My 2009-2010 theme for our school library (grades PK3 - 8) is geography and travel. Students spent the first semester learning about (depending on age) various kinds of atlases, maps, continents, the States, how to plan an overseas trip, hot air balloons, and much more. Imagine my great delight when I found this book that encompasses most of the topics I've covered!

3. When I first opened the package from Amazon and saw that the book was an illustrated children's book, frankly, I was disappointed. I wanted to learn more about this amazing woman. My comment about being disappointed is a shocker, coming from a person who absolutely LOVES picture books for their originality, simple but incredible content, the beauty of the artwork (or humor), the lessons scripted in, to name a few reasons. Then I read the book. Oh yes, that's also why I LOVE children's books.

4. Don Brown (not to be confused with Dan Brown) is a children's author and illustrator, who specializes in books about women of the past. In fact, one of Mr. Brown's books is on the list of books being considered by students, grades 3-5, in Louisiana, for the favorite book of the year. The book is "Dolly Madison Saves George Washington."

5. The book itself: Right there on the back of the front cover is a first for me. Instead of a blank page or sketches of some do-dads, is a biographical sketch. It concludes with this statement: "Don Brown introduces us to an inspiring heroine who, against all odds, came to embody the very spirit of exploration and discovery."

6. The artwork itself is both detailed and sketchy. Pen and ink provides definition of items, watercolor gives us that soft impression. His portrayal of people is almost amusing in its lack of details. Once into the story, the reader fleshes out details for him/herself. I found the technique exactly right for the story.

7. The life of Mary Kingsley is the stuff of fairy tales. She never went to school. Her mother was bed-ridden and her father was a traveler, adventurer, and writer, thus rarely home. Basically, Mary was the caregiver. It is believed she taught herself to read. What is inspiring about this part of her life is her lack of self-pity. She is an example of a child in bad circumstances who does not allow life to defeat her. She read extensively from her father's library, allowing books to become her world.

8. She was 30 years old when her parents died (in the same year) and then wandered out into the world. And, wow, what wandering! She headed for West Africa!

9. Mary's adventures in West Africa are simply amazing. What grit! What derring-do! What fortitude! Eventually, she came to call West Africa her spiritual home. When she did return to England, she turned her house into the tropical climate of her beloved home and decorated it with African artifacts.

10. This is a book that demonstrates many things: a negative childhood can be overcome, the world is an open book, courage and confidence are great qualities, among many. The best thing about the book is Mary herself, an example to emulate.

Uncommon Traveler? To be sure! Although the intended audience is ages 4-8 (automatic for illustrated children's books), the book can be enjoyed by all ages. I almost dare an adult to read this to his/her child and not be enticed to learning more about Mary Kingsley, uncommon traveler.

I'm a big fan of Don Brown's writing and illustrating, and Uncommon Traveler is one of my favorite of his children's books. The story of Mary Kingsley is told in well-written prose that is nicely balanced: short sentences when she is at home in England at the beginning and end of the book, longer and more interesting sentences when she's in Africa.

Bricks filled nearly all of the front windows.
Shutters blocked the back windows.
Vines choked the back wall.
Gloom ruled the rooms.

Compare the above, which is England, to a sentence from Africa: "She and her guides often crashed into boulders or spun wildly in whirlpools and had to leap for their lives."

Not only is the writing wonderful, so are the illustrations, which show Mary in action (with much humor). And the story of what Mary Kingsley accomplished is quite exciting. Read this book!

I never heard of this woman until I got this biography from my Secret Santa at LibraryThing. She had a fascinating life after she was grown - exploring Africa alone in those days when travel was difficult.

I like how the book is written. The author doesn't speculate on her thoughts or motivations (although actual quotations by Mary Kingsley are used when appropriate), and while her childhood was certainly "difficult" (she grew up isolated, educating herself and taking care of the house and her invalid mother while her father traveled), this is stated clearly without dwelling on it in a maudlin fashion. It's hard to walk that line between covering up unpleasant facts and making a big deal of them, but this book does that nicely.

Simple, factual, and, above all - interesting. I intend to get more books by this author. He's just shot to the top of my wishlist.