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

This forum is for volunteer reviews by members of our review team. These reviews are done voluntarily by the reviewers and are published in this forum, separate from the official professional reviews. These reviews are kept separate primarily because the same book may be reviewed by many different reviewers.
Post Reply
User avatar
jrbrady
Posts: 6
Joined: 17 Jun 2019, 11:18
Currently Reading: Total Truth
Bookshelf Size: 802
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-jrbrady.html
Latest Review: Bird in a Snare by N.L. Holmes

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

Post by jrbrady »

[Following is a volunteer review of "Bedu: Bedouin Boy, Poet King" by David W. Sutherland and Paul McKellips.]
Book Cover
4 out of 4 stars
Share This Review


Bedu: Bedouin Boy, Poet King: A Profoundly Simple Journey by David W Sutherland and Paul McEllips, is a story that follows Bedu, a young man living around 30 AD as a Bedouin with his family. Bedu works hard to tend his father’s flocks, all the while creating beautiful spoken poetry reflecting the composition of his daily life: beauty and struggle. He shares his word-crafting skill with his family and inspires them with the wonder of life. An encounter with King Melchior interrupts Bedu’s seemingly peaceful life and he develops a deep resentment. He makes a choice to lash out against the King. The King responds to Bedu’s antagonism by sending him on a quest to discover the secret of the seven stars. Bedu’s adventures shape him into a better man, and guide him into a leadership role he never expected.

I love that this story succeeds in illustrating the character requirements of an exemplary leader. I have never read such a simple, charming story that also taught me some valuable lessons. There are seven chapter titles that create the acrostic; “culture.” Collaborate, Understanding, Leadership, Treat, Unleash, Respect, Evolve. Each of Bedu’s adventures illustrate one these character traits. Both authors are retired from the U.S. Army. According to the author biography at end of the book, Sutherland is a “nationally recognized speaker and vocal advocate for transformational change that is driven by visionary, ethical and engaged leaders.” I believe the authors faithfully accomplished their goal of teaching leadership principles within the fictional adventure. As a reader, I was invested in Bedu struggles and successes!

This book is a quick- read, giving only glimpses into Bedu’s life at various times. This is great for readers who enjoy shorter stories. However, I found Bedu’s character to be very interesting, and would have loved a fully-fleshed novel filling in the details. In my opinion, this is the only somewhat negative aspect to the book.

I give Bedu: Bedouin Boy, Poet King: A Profoundly Simple Journey 4 out of 4 stars. The book is professionally edited. The flow of the story was not marred with grammatical mistakes and the content was engaging.

I highly recommend this book to various audiences because of its wide range of appeal. This would be a great required read for employers and employees to read as part of a character- building exercise. The target audience is mainly teens and adults, but appropriate for all ages. Even older children might enjoy it as a family read-aloud. This book does include spiritual Christian themes woven within the setting of the story, but people of any religious or non- religious background can enjoy this story.

******
Bedu: Bedouin Boy, Poet King
View: on Bookshelves
Post Reply

Return to “Volunteer Reviews”