Facing the Lion: Growing Up Maasai on the African Savanna (National Geographic-memoirs) - Hardcover

Lemasolai-Lekuton, Joseph

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0792251253 ISBN 13: 9780792251255

Publisher: National Geographic Children's Books, 2003

Synopsis

Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton gives American kids a firsthand look at growing up in Kenya as a member of a tribe of nomads whose livelihood centers around the raising of cattle. Here's a fascinating introduction to a vibrant culture few outsiders ever see!

About this title

About the Author:

Joseph Lamsolai Lekuton grew up in a nomadic Maasai village in northern Kenya and came to the United States in his late teens to pursue his education. He taught at The Langley School in northern Virginia and is actively involved in community development projects in rural Kenya. Through his work with several nonprofit organizations, Lekuton has provided more than a hundred nomadic children with education scholarships, established the Karare Boarding School, and constructed a water system delivering clean water to a dozen villages in northern Kenya. He holds a B.A. and an M.A. from St. Lawrence University and a master’s in international education policy from Harvard. He is the youngest recipient of Kenya’s Order of the Grand warrior, a presidential award given for exemplary service to the country. Lekuton divides his time between Kenya and the Washington D.C. area.

From Booklist:

Gr. 5-12. This simple memoir is the extraordinary story of a poor nomadic boy in Kenya who literally travels across the world but never abandons home. Lekuton grew up in Kenya's poorest tribe, herding cows and playing in trees and hyena holes before he entered a missionary boarding school and went to college in the U.S. Now he teaches in Virginia, but he has never lost his Maasai roots, and he returns home to help his people several months a year. Looking back without romanticism or self-pity, he remembers how it was: the joy and excitement, the constant hunger and moving, and the traditions, including the circumcision ceremony that made him a man. The Cinderella theme begins in Kenya where he's the shabby kid accepted at a fancy Nairobi high school. Later he travels to his college interview in a cattle truck with the cows. What gives this short, readable book its power is Lekuton's authoritative, intimate view of now and then. Hazel Rochman
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About this edition

• Publisher: National Geographic Children's Books
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0792251253
• ISBN 13: 9780792251255
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 144