One day the boys decide to hunt down the meanest warthog in the forest. The hunt takes them deeper into the jungle than Kariuki has ever gone, and all at once his beloved forest becomes a frightening place. Dangerous creatures live in the jungle, including the mau-mau, the men with guns who are plotting against Bwana Ruin and the white soldiers. And when Nigel suddenly disappears, will Kariuki be able to save his friend?

In this novel, the author captures a time of innocence, wild beauty, and the growing violence that eventually changed the entire structure of colonial Africa.

The Mzungu Boy

FROM THE PUBLISHER

For Kariuki, life in a small village in Kenya is one great adventure. The best part of his day is the walk home from school, when he is free from both his bullying headmaster and his mother¿¿¿s long list of chores. The landscape around his village is beautifully wild, and Kariuki knows it well. One day Kariuki meets Nigel, a boy from England who has come to visit his grandfather, the fearsome Bwana Ruin, who owns the farm where the villagers work. The villagers call Nigel the mzungu boy (westerner), and view him with suspicion and fear. But not Kariuki.

One day the boys decide to hunt down the meanest warthog in the forest. The hunt takes them deeper into the jungle than Kariuki has ever gone, and all at once his beloved forest becomes a frightening place. Dangerous creatures live in the jungle, including the mau-mau, the men with guns who are plotting against Bwana Ruin and the white soldiers. And when Nigel suddenly disappears, will Kariuki be able to save his friend?

In this novel, the author captures a time of innocence, wild beauty, and the growing violence that eventually changed the entire structure of colonial Africa.

FROM THE CRITICS

Children's Literature - Pat Trattles

In the early 1950's in Kenya, Africa, the social structure is such that the white landowners are on the top, and the native boys on the bottom. As one of those native boys, twelve year old Kariuki has no more status than the village dogs. He hates school, where the headmaster engages in routine beatings for the simplest infractions. At home, the beatings come from his older brother, Hari, or his overworked father. His mother does not beat him, just supplies him with an endless list of chores. Kariuki only finds peace when he walks the many miles home from school through the beautiful forests and plains surrounding his impoverished village, or when his mother sends him to the river for water and as he toils he watches the ducks. It is at the river that Kariuki meets the white boy, Nigel, grandson of Bwana Ruin, owner of the farm where the villagers work. Typical of twelve- year-olds everywhere, the two boys care more for fun and adventure tinged with a little danger than they do for social politics. They soon become fast friends. To the adults, however, this friendship is an abomination, and they do everything they can to discourage it. A great look at a place and time in history that is not familiar to most American children, this book would be a good supplement to the middle school social studies curriculum. 2005 (Orig. 1990), House of Anansi Press/Groundwood Books, Ages 10 to 12.

School Library Journal

Gr 4-6-A story set in Kenya during the early 1950s. As a concluding note explains, much of the land at this time was held by European settlers, and native Kenyans were relegated to working as tenant farmers under "exploitative and demeaning conditions." Against this backdrop, the author created this story of a friendship between two boys, Nigel, white and British, grandson of a brutal landowner; and Kariuki, a black Kenyan whose father works as a cook for Nigel's grandfather. The boys fish, swim, explore, and hunt together as they forge a quick and strong bond. But they are also caught up in the more serious matters swirling around them-the brutality of the colonial system and the pervading sense of mistrust, fear, and danger that culminates in Nigel's and, later, Kariuki's capture by men who are organizing an uprising. The pace is quick, and the story is exciting, action-packed, and full of detail. Elements of foreboding and suspense are seamlessly woven into Kariuki's first-person narrative. This is a riveting tale that introduces the landscape, history, and culture of colonial Kenya.-Mary N. Oluonye, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.