Review of The Curious Cousins and the African Elephant Expedition
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- Gerry Steen
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Review of The Curious Cousins and the African Elephant Expedition
Would you like your children to learn about South African animals, culture, and language? Do you want your children to see art that portrays South African flora, fauna, and village life? Are you interested in your child developing a new vocabulary consisting of English and Zulu words? If you answered yes to these questions, you should get a copy of The Curious Cousins and the African Elephant Expedition by Debra Ford.
The author was inspired to write this book so that their grandchildren could experience the family’s South African heritage. Ford’s three granddaughters Emilia Rose, Isla Mae, and Audrey Jane were cousins.
The cousins were used as characters in the story. They believed that in their dreams people could travel anywhere and communicate with everything. The girls agreed to meet in their dreams and journey to South Africa to see elephants. Along the way, they came across several floras and faunas including a weever bird, ant, puff adder snake, dung beetle, daddy long-legs spider, dragonfly, and fever tree. They each greeted the children, explained their habits, and gave advice to make the journey easier.
Children reading this story will be treated to interesting facts about the flora, fauna, landscapes, and people the girls met on their journey. The book features beautiful artwork depicting wildlife, landscapes, villages, and people. The art is lively and bright. Juvenile readers will be captivated by the childlike style, beauty, and vivid colors of this artwork.
Amusing words were sprinkled throughout the story. Audrey Jane kept a list entitled "Audrey Jane’s Favourite Words." The list included cacophony, brouhaha, snorkel, nocturnal, gyrating, perturbed, ambulatory, and ginormous. This list appeared in the appendix with a short definition for each word. Several Zulu words were introduced in the story. Their pronunciation was spelled out in English, and their definitions were given. The Zulu words included thula, manyeleti, woza, sawubona, hamba gahle, yebo, gogo, amanzi, umama, indlovu, jigamanzi, ubuntu, and yabonga. The Zulu words added authenticity to the South African theme.
This book has short chapters, various themes, and vivid art. All of these factors will contribute to keeping your 3 to 6-year-old child enthralled. This book is appropriate for early readers up to 9 years old. Adults will enjoy reading the appendix and glossary that provide more information to discuss with their child.
This storybook succeeded in giving me a genuine South African experience. The editing was professionally done, and the story was easy to read. The art was pleasing to the eye. I did not find anything to dislike about the book. The following information was provided in the official book description I read before reading and reviewing this book: “This book introduces spirituality to children (not religion), to understand their connection with all (insects, birds, animals and plants) and to know that they are 'more than their physical body' and therefore can explore their dreams. This book will NOT appeal to those who hold strong traditional religious beliefs, especially Christianity, Islam, and Judaism.” I am a Christian, and I was not offended at all. In conclusion, I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars.
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The Curious Cousins and the African Elephant Expedition
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