A Boy of Two Worlds

From SPARK

One-sentence summary

Children's story of a Maasai goat herd boy.

Description

A Boy of Two Worlds is a 93 page book. It has 32 chapters. Line drawings show life in East Africa and life of the Maasai people. They help the reader to understand this part of Africa and its people.

Maasai boys like to throw spears. They like to jump. They want to become strong men and leaders of their people. In this story the young boy, Lemayan, is a goat and cattle herder. His father is proud of his son. One day all that changes. His tribe's way of life is in danger. There is a drought. Worms attack the cattle. Soon the whole tribe has to sell all their animals. Lemayan gets sick! No one knows how really sick he is. Lemayan has grown up in the Maasai culture. But now because he is sick, he will have to live in a different culture.

Lemayan wonders what this new way of living will be like. Will he be able to find joy? Will anything be as good as looking after cattle and goats? Lemayan learns that the Good Shepherd (Jesus) cares for his sheep (people). He continues to learn about Jesus. He learns that Jesus cares about all tribes and people.

This is a story about courage, rebellion, forgiveness, and the challenge of faith. Children will learn about Lemayan's physical problems. They are told how he learns to control his pride. They learn that he begins a new life and work.

Considerations

• Most useful for children in East Africa.
• Also useful and interesting to children ages 7-13 who live in other countries.
• A two-page introduction tells about how Lemayan and the Maasai love their animals.
• A map shows the land of the Maasai including parts of Kenya and Tanzania.
• The book ends with information about Maasai culture. There are ten prayer ideas for children.

Limitations

• If used with children in East Africa, some of the explanations should be deleted as children will already understand the culture and situation.
• Some of the drawings show only parts of a scene or people. These will not be appropriate in all cultures. The drawings will need to be explained.

Guidelines for Use

• Record on an audio cassette or CD. The drawings can be used with the recorded story on an enlarged flipchart.
• Use as a radio series.

Where to Obtain

Link to Producer or Source Organization

Name: Christian Focus Publications Ltd

Cost

$6.99 (USD) 4.99 (GBP) as of September 2007

Producer/Owners

Author/Artist/Producer

Lorna Eglin

Current copyright owner

Lorna Eglin 2007

Other Information

If you are interested in translating these stories in a culturally appropriate manner for a minority language group, you need to contact Lorna Eglin through her publishers, Christian Focus Publications. Working together you can make, and sign, a Creative Commons License agreement.

Reviewed by

Vida, VMS Children's Resources

Date

September 24, 2007