BOOK: Baboon King by Quintana

[Frederick Muller <fmuller@TELLURIAN.NET>]

Quintana, Anton._Baboon King_,1999 [0-8027-8711-8] Walker & Co
Morengaru is a half breed, Masai and Kikuyu.  He lives with the
Kikuyu, a farming vegetarian people in Africa but is an outcast of
sorts because he is a hunter and meat eater.  They leave him
alone until a leopard starts raiding their village and he is sent to kill
it.  He does, and becomes a hero until he accidentally kills a
young man for which he is banished.  No longer a member of any
tribe, he wanders until he meets a group of baboons and the leader
challenges him.  After a vicious fight, the leader is killed and he is
severely wounded.  He recovers as a cripple and becomes a
member the the group.  Everything is fine until another leopard
starts raiding the group of baboons.  He has to do something but
can a cripple with essentially no weapons fight a leopard? And
what then? This 182 page book is excellent.  It shows the politics
and realities of life in an African tribe as being complex and
sophisticated -- more so than usually portrayed.  Life with the
baboons is fascinating, showing what they are really like and how
social they are.  This book has small print and unfamiliar
vocabulary which defined contextually.   It will be a challenging
read for most middle school kids, but worth it.

***************
Frederick Muller
Halsted Middle School Library
59 Halsted Street
Newton, NJ   07860
   voice (973) 383-7440 ext 228
   FAX (973) 383-7432
My book reviews are compiled at:
  http://www.halsted.org/br.htm
My personal web site is:
  http://users.tellurian.net/fmuller

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