Author/Illustrator: Janet Graber/Scott Mack
Plot Summary: Before the drought, Muktar lived a nomadic lifestyle with his parents in Somalia. Muktar is now living in a Kenyan orphanage and daydreaming about the loss of his parents, tending to the camels, and sleeping under the stars. When a "librarian" comes to deliver library books to the orphanage, he also brings three camels. Muktar jumps at the chance to help the man while he unloads the books and other materials for their classroom. He lovingly cares for the camels and is invited by the man to be his assistant and roam the country making deliveries on the camels.
Comments:
In starting this book, it seems that it will be sad although it ends on a happy note and with a positive message. Muktar not only gets the life he wants, there is also a more subtle message that every person's path in life is not the same. Although studying in school was right for his friend who wanted to be a teacher, it was the not the right lifestyle for Muktar. Children will enjoy hearing about the intimate details of life with a camel. It is also a lesson on learning, libraries and books.
Extensions:
1. In our school system, we have students whose families are refugees from Somalia. Reading this book would be an introduction to that country and why people had to leave. This could be broadened to include other countries with similar situations. This could lead to a writing assignment about the student's country of origin - or the country of origin of their parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents.
2. As an extension of the Expeditionary Learning Design Principle, Diversity and Inclusion, this book details the nomadic lifestyle which is common in parts of the world but very different from our own lives.
3. Read the book to seventh grade students studying Africa. It is a realistic description of the lives of the people and could be a springboard for a class discussion, research project or writing assignment.
4. Locate the countries of Somalia and Kenya on a map.
5. After a read-aloud in the library, discuss with students how the man in the book is a "librarian" and what a "library" might look like in another country. What really makes a library?
Themes/keywords: Orphans, Refugees, Camels, Schools, Somalis, Kenya
Age/Reading Level: Interest level - K-3; ATOS: 3.3
Standards:
Social Studies Skills Matrices - K-12 - Map and Globe Skills(although these technically only apply to the specific subjects introduced in a given year - ie. the study of Georgia in second grade.)
SS7G1 - The student will locate selected features of Africa.
SS7G2 - The student will discuss environmental issues across the continent of Africa.
SS7G3 - The student will explain the impact of location, climate, and physical characteristics on population distribution in Africa.
SS7G4 - The student will describe the diverse cultures of the people who live in Africa.
Expeditionary Learning Design Principle - Diversity and Inclusion.
Publisher's Info: Henry Holt and Company, New York, 2009
ISBN-13: 978-0-8050-7834-3
ISBN-10: 0-8050-7834-7
Awards/Review Sources:
School Library Journal 08/01/09 | Publishers Weekly 08/03/09 |
| Booklist 06/01/09 | Kirkus Review 07/15/09 |
Genre/Dewey: Fiction; Easy/Everybody
Websites:
Link to some of the reviews: http://martsubhub.lib.wv.us:8000/kcweb/kcContent?isbn=9780805078343&type=review&controlnumber=eph00099825&referedby=titlelist
Notes for Booktalk:
Vocabulary: posho, dung, cantankerous, matoke, nomad,
Comments