Review by rtyson -- The Talking Baobab Tree by Nelda LaTeef

[rtyson]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Talking Baobab Tree" by Nelda LaTeef.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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The Talking Baobab Tree, written by Nelda LaTeef, is a story of how Johari, the rabbit, with the help of her wits and her friend, the talking Baobab tree, survives the dangers posed by a hungry hyena. This clever tale demonstrates the importance of wisdom and the hazard of greed.

The book began with a page on the history of the Baobab tree. The story’s plot developed at a steady pace, which made it an easy read. The characters were vibrant, and their choices stood out as good object lessons, similar to fables. There was an overall serious tone to the story, but it had a fun twist at the end, which made it very satisfying. The artwork was good, though not as lively as some children’s books. The rabbit and hyena were small in most pictures, which made them less eye-catching.

There was no inappropriate language or violence in this book. The book was 23 pages, but the actual story was only 19 pages. Most pages only had a few sentences of text. This book was well edited.

There was very little I did not like about the book. What I liked least was the pictures. Also, there was a page with split word columns. I hesitated to find where to continue reading. I liked the speed of the plot and the interplay between the characters. What I liked most about this book was the charming ending that drives in the moral points. It gave me a little thrill of excitement and left me feeling good about the book. For this reason, I give this book 4 out of 4 stars.

I would recommend this as a book for parents to read to small children. I think that children up to age five would enjoy the story. The text contains many advanced words, so I would not recommend it for a beginning reader.

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The Talking Baobab Tree
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