Young boy raises lion cub

African animals charm young readers.

Jon Dykstra | Jun 28 2017 | comment

Akimbo and the Lionsby Alexander McCall Smith
written for ages 7-10 | recommended
published in 2005 (1992) | Bloomsbury USA Childrens | 80 pages

Alexander McCall Smith is best known as the author of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, but he does children's books as well.

Akimbo is a boy who has access to all the coolest animals in Africa. His dad is one of the rangers in charge of a wild game reserve, which means that from one book to the next Akimbo is having adventures with snakes and baboons and elephants and crocodiles. Oh my!

In Akimbo and the Lions, he accompanies his father to trap a lion harassing a small village. But things don't go as planned. Instead they trap a cub and scare the momma away. That means someone needs to take care of this wee little lion, and Akimbo convinces his dad that he is just the boy for the job!

McCall does a wonderful job of balancing the tension in the book. There were moments where my 5 and 7-year-olds were covering their mouths (and sometimes their eyes) but these moments didn't last too long,.

This is just a good old-fashuioned adventure, perfect for their age group. It is short - a book that can be read in two or three sessions - exciting, sometimes sweet, with gentle humor along the way too. We look forward to tackling others in this series.

Jon Dykstra blogs on books at ReallyGoodReads.com.

June 28, 2017

We make a big thing of marriage and parenthood on MercatorNet, and rightly so: the family is at the heart of society and of our mission and it needs to be vigorously defended today. But not every adult will be married or should be married. Singlehood is a valid and important way of life that complements marriage in building up society and can be lived generously and joyfully, either while preparing/hoping for marriage or as a permanent state.

Last week we ran an article about a German study that showed single people are much more likely to be lonely than those married, and to suffer ill health. That was particularly true of those who lived alone, which of course is not the necessary consequence of being single. Anyway today we hear from two women living the single life in different ways. Cristina Montes, a law professor in the Philippines, speaks up for the single state in general. Chiara Bertoglio, an Italian musician and contributor to MercatorNet, shares something of her own life and its many opportunities for self-giving even as she remains open to the prospect of marriage. I thank them both for speaking so well about a state that I share with them.