Review by EDowney107 -- Bedu: Bedouin Boy, Poet King

[EDowney107]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Bedu: Bedouin Boy, Poet King" by David W. Sutherland and Paul McKellips.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Bedu, Bedouin Boy, Poet King: A Profoundly Simple Journey is a parable written by Colonel David W. Sutherland and Paul McKellips. This tale follows the journey of the title character, beginning in about 30 A.D. We first meet Bedu as a shepherd boy, living with his parents and sister in a traditional Bedouin style home. To the delight of his father and disgust of his sister, Bedu enjoys composing poetry to describe the natural beauty that surrounds him as he tends to his flock.

The family is visited by an army protecting Melchior (“I am not a king…some would say a Magi”) and his granddaughter Yasmin. After slaughtering their flock to feed their guests, Bedu is instructed to journey to Hebron to buy new animals. This journey mirrors his father’s own journey from thirty years prior, where he first met Melchior.

Bedu encounters challenges and rewards throughout his travels, in addition to a fascinating variety of strangers. At all times he heeds the advice of Melchior and keeps watch for seven bright stars. As his journey progresses Bedu struggles with who he is, what he does and who he will be, wrestling at times with the twin pulls of tradition and ambition.

This well written tale quickly captures the reader’s attention and has them rooting for Bedu to find a happy ending. While some of the characters possess a decidedly modern sensibility, particularly relating to gender roles, this does not detract from the story. Instead, it makes the important lessons from this adventure all the more relatable and relevant to the current era.

Bedu’s story is ideal for middle or high school students, as well as recent graduates embarking on the next phase of their lives and anyone else in need of a gentle reminder about the power we all have to shape our lives by the choices we make.

I have given this story 4 out of 4 stars based on its quick pacing, enjoyable characters and palatable teachings. Although clearly intended to impart lessons, the book manages to be entertaining as well as enlightening, with flashes of humor to be found throughout the story. The book was well edited, with only minor formatting issues in a few select locations. While there are some allusions to the early days of Christianity and Christian teachings (i.e., the Beatitudes), these are handled with a light touch and do not prevent the story from appealing to those of any, or no, faith background.

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Bedu: Bedouin Boy, Poet King
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[Damis Seres Rodriguez]

I found the journey that Badu had really interesting, but there was something that kept bugging me. What do you think about how easily he accepted to delay his returning to his parents' house even when he knew they were in need? With his father being the only man around besides him at his house, his help was precious to work around, but he didn't seem to care that much about it. Granted, he wanted to return all along, and cared about the well being of his family, however his choices seemed quite easy to take.