Muktar and the Camels
Grade 2–3—Muktar, a Somali orphan in Kenya, misses the nomadic life of his people. His friend Ismail is determined to learn the "new ways" at their orphanage school, but Muktar daydreams of camels and the important place they have in his culture. When a trio of camels visits his school bearing a traveling library, Muktar cares for them so well that he is offered a job doing just that. While many books offer a view of third-world cultures, they often mirror our own values and concerns: Katie Smith Milway'sOne Hen(Kids Can, 2008) tells the story of nascent capitalism in Ghana; Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen's commendable "Elizabeti" titles (Lee & Low) enlighten readers about Tanzanian family life. Graber's story offers an anthropologist's appreciation for Somali nomadic culture without westernizing Muktar. He is not a bookworm or entrepreneur—he is a displaced child who is made drowsy by the "tangy smell of fresh excrement." Muktar longs to live the life that is in his blood, and Graber tells his story well, though the simple maps and the brief historical context come at the end of the book or on the endpapers. Readers may be concerned when the teacher calls Muktar "lazy" and will have to dig deep to appreciate a dream about dung collection, but the effort will be worthwhile. Mack's oil-on-canvas paintings evoke the sun and dust of Kenya, giving readers an impression of the landscape.—Lisa Egly Lehmuller, St. Patrick's Catholic School, Charlotte, NCCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.