Mrs Butler's Blog 10
October 2005 Number 10
I’ve just read three really good animal stories by Geoffrey Malone. The first one I read was Kimba. It is the story of a lion cub, growing up in a pride; being ousted by two new males; his survival on his own; and, finally, his return to take over the territory. There are some lovely details of wildlife on the plain but the thing that strikes you most forcibly is the short lifespan of any creature that is injured. Accidental wounds caused by the kicks of the prey, porcupines, or bites from jealous lion, can be as fatal as hyenas and crocodiles or the snares of the poachers. Only the fit survive.
The second book was Elephant Ben, and, as the title suggests, it is about elephants but it has human characters as well as the animals. Ben Sitole is the son of a game warden. His dad has promised to take him on safari. His adventure alternates with the story of a family of elephants on their annual trek to the swamp during the dry season, until Ben and the elephants meet and they are all in danger from ivory poachers. Geoffrey Malone’s observations of animal behaviour are very convincing and I particularly liked the description of the fight between the elephant and the old crocodile. He has cleverly used the terrain around “M’goma” where the lion book was set, and several animal characters appear again – I think the crocodile may have been the same one that threatened Kimba, but I cannot be sure without checking.
Wolf , (I’m sure you can guess what this one is about) is set in Wyoming, where the needs of cattle farmers are in opposition to the needs of the wolves. Family of vets moves to a small country town and tending a wounded wolf makes them very unpopular - plenty of opportunities for a spot of bullying on the school bus. As in the other Geoffrey Malones much of the book concentrates on the wolf and his family. This book is unusual for its tragic ending.
Just one thing: I’m getting very fed up with the mistakes which are ignored by computer spell-checking. Twice in as many weeks I have come across “dowsing” (meaning water-divining) instead of “dousing” (meaning getting soaked).
I’ve just read three really good animal stories by Geoffrey Malone. The first one I read was Kimba. It is the story of a lion cub, growing up in a pride; being ousted by two new males; his survival on his own; and, finally, his return to take over the territory. There are some lovely details of wildlife on the plain but the thing that strikes you most forcibly is the short lifespan of any creature that is injured. Accidental wounds caused by the kicks of the prey, porcupines, or bites from jealous lion, can be as fatal as hyenas and crocodiles or the snares of the poachers. Only the fit survive.
The second book was Elephant Ben, and, as the title suggests, it is about elephants but it has human characters as well as the animals. Ben Sitole is the son of a game warden. His dad has promised to take him on safari. His adventure alternates with the story of a family of elephants on their annual trek to the swamp during the dry season, until Ben and the elephants meet and they are all in danger from ivory poachers. Geoffrey Malone’s observations of animal behaviour are very convincing and I particularly liked the description of the fight between the elephant and the old crocodile. He has cleverly used the terrain around “M’goma” where the lion book was set, and several animal characters appear again – I think the crocodile may have been the same one that threatened Kimba, but I cannot be sure without checking.
Wolf , (I’m sure you can guess what this one is about) is set in Wyoming, where the needs of cattle farmers are in opposition to the needs of the wolves. Family of vets moves to a small country town and tending a wounded wolf makes them very unpopular - plenty of opportunities for a spot of bullying on the school bus. As in the other Geoffrey Malones much of the book concentrates on the wolf and his family. This book is unusual for its tragic ending.
Just one thing: I’m getting very fed up with the mistakes which are ignored by computer spell-checking. Twice in as many weeks I have come across “dowsing” (meaning water-divining) instead of “dousing” (meaning getting soaked).
posted by Extreme Reading Group | 9:38 AM
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