Book Review of Diary of My Days in Kenya First Published on Blogcritics at: http://blogcritics.org/books/article/book-review-diary-of-my-days/
Diary of My Days in Kenya:
A Naturalist’s Observations of a Lioness and Her Adopted Oryx
By: Rachel Yurchisin
Rachel Yurchisin’s Diary of My Days in Kenya is a great educational picture book for children. It is based on one young girl’s journey to Kenya. Rachel loves science and nature and it shows true on each page of this fictional account of her voyage to Kenya.
The reader will be moved by the love that one lioness has for a baby Oryx that isn’t even her own offspring. The lion saves the Oryx from other predators who would surely eat it up. The reader will also learn a lot about the droughts in Kenya and the impact that it has on nature and specifically on lions and their offspring.
This is a unique book in that it is written by a high school sophomore. She is one talented writer. Her example should inspire other budding writers to have the courage to pen their own stories at an earlier age and to have the courage to submit them to traditional or non-traditional publishers.
The illustrator did a splendid job at presenting Kenya in its more realistic form. I felt transported to Kenya through the images and prose. The book is written as a set of dated journal entries.
I recommend this book to kids of all ages. It can also be used in the history, geography, and nature classes at the high school and even elementary levels.
Reviewed by: Irene S. Roth
