Jane Goodall on Bill Moyers Journal, PBS

Michael Winship, senior writer at Bill Moyers Journal on PBS, has written a wonderful article about Jane Goodall and her passion to encourage future generations to steward the earth and its creatures better than we are now. Winship quotes Goodall as telling Bill Moyers, "The worldwide chimp population is down to fewer than 300,000 now, spread across isolated fragments of forest, Goodall says, in 21 African nations. Moyers asked, what do we lose if the last chimp goes? 'We lose one window into learning about our long course of evolution,' she replied."

Dr. Goodall will be Bill Moyer's guest this Friday evening on most PBS stations. Check local airtimes, find out more at PBS, or download the podcast when you can. But tune in to what Dr. Goodall says!

The "E" word: EVOLUTION

Deborah Heiligman wrote a great article for The Washington Post in which she enumerated twelve reasons we should teach young people about Charles Darwin and, of course, about evolution, almost an unmentionable word in schools today. Heiligman is author of the new book, Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith, a 2009 National Book Award finalist. I had the pleasure of hearing her speak, and she is an excellent and witty speaker who made about 50 writers, illustrators, and librarians enthusiastic about a married couple who lived over 150 years ago. Having written a book on the Leakeys, who embraced Darwin's ideas and carried them further in his search for fossils of early humans, I strongly concur. Evolution, including the ideas of Darwin, the Leakeys, Johanson, and many other scientists, should not be shunned.

Even if school budgets are tight and schools are reluctant to take on topics that may alienate some students or anger their parents, allowing a minority to hold the majority of young people hostage to a limited view of the scientific world is wrong. Surely administrators can allow those who don't want to be informed on scientific principles to be absent from a unit on evolution. Of course, better that everyone be present and have a lively discussion, with freedom of thought and speech.

Heiligman ends with her twelfth reason: "12. Charles Darwin is a great role model. He was a genius who worked hard. He was a loving father and husband. His kids adored him. So did his friends. He was honored by his country when he died. We should teach our children about Charles Darwin." I agree!

I also highly recommend Heiligman's book. It is well researched, carefully referenced, and represents the best in narrative nonfiction writing. Give students her article and let them decide if their minds should be closed to evolution or if they want to investigate what evolution is — and isn't — if you believe, as I do, that teaching young people to think for themselves is what education is about, or should be.

Mary Amato and the Writing Process

Mary Amato, a Maryland writer of fiction for upper elementary age and teen readers, made this wonderful short video to show teachers and students the process writers go thru in writing a book.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCGYIY87aR0

The Leakeys: A Biography, now in paperback

For the adult or young adult with an interest in East Africa or human origins, my book, The Leakeys: A Biography, is now available and listed in Prometheus Books Holiday Gift Guide!

Prometheus is running a sale offer from now until Dec. 31st. Customers save 20% on all orders plus free shipping by UPS ground within the US.

The book tells how three generations of the Leakey family have scratched in the baked, unfriendly soil of East Africa to unearth fossil evidence of the earliest humans and their ancient ancestors. The cover is spiffy and eye-catching, with a picture of Louis and Mary Leakey on the front. The back cover includes wonderful blurbs from Dr. Louise Leakey and Dr. Nasser Malit. A headline at the top of the back cover says, "It's hard to imagine the study of human origins without the Leakey family." (I didn't write that last sentence but it's absolutely true!)

Weather Report

Jackson's e-mail of October 15 read:
"The mara is still dry, hoping for the announced heavy rains soon. I am just back from a long game drive, saw lots of lions."

I haven't had an e-mail from Jackson for several days but I have been checking the weather at Narok on an iPhone app. Not good. As the e-mail above said, in November the long rains are anticipated, with rain most days. The grass soon turns lush green for the cattle and wildlife to enjoy until the next round of rain. But the weather in recent years hasn't followed regular cycles. The repercussions are immense and many. The Maasai must move further to find grazing land, wildlife suffers from lack of water and consequently food, and the entire shaky balance between humans, domestic animals, and wildlife shifts. Sunny weather is the norm in Kenya—but rain is needed. Is lack of water a preview of life on our planet in the future, as many scientists say?

iMaasai

I spent a fantastic long weekend at a Highlights for Children Foundation workshop in Honesdale, PA, on Nonfiction Storytelling, presented by Kim Griswell and Barbara Kerley. Now that I'm finishing up other writing projects, my mind is returning to writing about Jackson Liaram's adventures as a Maasai who is a safari guide. In going over material, I found a fun piece I wrote last year. (If you've read much of this blog, please forgive the background information.)

NOTE on photos: Jackson recently purchased a modem but this photo shows him accessing Internet via cell phone on hood of Land Rover. Here you also see Hellen and me standing under a photo of Ghandi. Given her patience working thru the computer purchase, my husband, Carl, felt the symbolism was appropriate.

iMaasai
By Mary Bowman-Kruhm

"Now I'm with you in the Internet. Two worlds!"
The first e-mail Jackson Liaram sent me, using his new MacBook, from Kenya’s Maasai Mara Game Reserve.

My tale begins when I had the idea to write a book for readers ages 9-14 about a young Maasai warrior, Jackson Minteeng Liaram. Although Jackson and I had never met, my husband and I supported him for his training as a safari guide and he was willing to help me write his story. I didn’t want the book to read like an encyclopedia, and sending me information that would make the book interesting is almost impossible via international snail mail and expensive phone calls. Then I got a letter from Jackson. He had an idea. He would cover the cost of Internet access if I set him up with a laptop. Wonderful!

I began a search online and offline to arrange for a computer to be safely delivered to a young Maasai warrior who lives and works in the Kenyan bush. For Jackson, travel to the capital city of Nairobi means a six km, or almost four-mile walk to the village of Narok, where he boards the first of several buses on which he’ll bounce over rolling roads for the next six-hours. But I discovered his picking up the computer would be the least of our problems. I had many conversations like the this one:

Me: I want to purchase a computer, pay for it by credit card, and have it picked up at a store in Nairobi, Kenya, that sells your computer.

Sales Rep: We can’t do that.

Me: Why not?

Sales Rep: We just can’t. We can ship it to a post office for you. But we can’t insure it.

Me: There’s no way I’m going to pay for an expensive computer and have it shipped to a post office box to be picked up whenever the young man can get there.

Sales Rep: Sorry. I can’t help you.

One day, almost ready to give up, I googled the yellow pages of the Nairobi phone book. Suddenly I noticed Elite Computers Ltd. I e-mailed and received a quick reply. I was soon working with Hellen Mutungi.

I quickly realized she would not even consider using words like, “Sorry. I can’t help you.” A flurry of e-mails flew between continents. She sent me a price quote and explained the differences between purchases in the United States and Kenya. She suggested a different printer; she would give Jackson basic training. We ran into major problems having my credit card accepted in Kenya without actually swiping it. I had no idea how one connects to the Internet in Africa, but she volunteered to help Jackson purchase the new cell phone he needed and show him how to connect online. Hellen persevered in working around all the difficulties.

On August 14, 2007, Jackson traveled to Nairobi to pick up his new computer and I received the e-mail that he was now part of the new electronic world as well as the traditional world of the Maasai.

On March 4, 2008, I walked into Elite AppleCenter to personally thank Hellen and her bosses, Riyaz Kurji and Kasim Kasmani, who had initially helped, and tell them my husband and I were on our way to the Maasai Mara to meet Jackson for the first time!

Hellen is amazing. She has stayed in touch with Jackson to solve problems by cell phone and online chats. She has shipped him ink supplies and answered what I suspect are many questions. I still don’t have a book contract but I am rewarded every few days when I get a “Hi, Mum” e-mail signed “Love, Jackson.”

Comments on Books about Kenya

As a writer I know how a review that criticizes my writing hurts. As a book reviewer for Children's Lit, whose reviews appear on the Children’s Comprehensive Literature Database, I read a number of books and am always reluctant to criticize but I also feel I must objectively provide advice that will help schools, universities, and libraries around the world wisely spend limited funds.

The same applies on this blog. A few weeks ago I high fived 14 Cows for America. Today, despite excellent reviews elsewhere, I discuss some concerns about several books because they do not give an accurate snapshot into the Kenyan culture. Based on my initial problems with content in these books, I checked with friends Linda Trice and Jackson Liaram and they not only agreed but added details to support my view.

I give Kenya in Colors a positive review but note some incongruities. The most egregious shows a small Maasai house, children, and a warrior wearing purple, a color worn only occasionally and then only by older men. The text is also incorrect on several counts when it tells the reader, “At night some farmers bring their animals inside to sleep” (p. 13). The Maasai consider themselves herders, not farmers, and cattle are not brought inside. At night, they enclose livestock in an open kraal, or corral, near their houses.

The unlikely plot of First Come the Zebra revolves around a Kikuyu boy and a Maasai boy in competition with each other. The story includes several subtle but excellent points about cooperation and economics; however, using Kikuyu and Maasai children to illustrate these points is a cultural stretch. The Maasai are pastoralists who generally shun towns and cities and seldom have rivalries with non-pastoralist peoples. I wonder if a Maasai was chosen as a main character because his unique clothes add visual interest…? Someone who is ethnically Luo or another group would dress like the Kikuyu.

For You Are a Kenyan Child is a beautifully told story, but it would not happen in Kenya, where cows and other livestock equal wealth. I asked Jackson what the result would have been if his mind wandered and some of his family’s animals strayed. His expression showed the horror of reporting the lose of a single small goat. “Very bad picture,” he said. Imagine a similar story in the U.S.: Small child is given $10,000 to take to bank, loses it when his attention wanders, but grandfather finds it and all is forgiven. Unrealistic in so many ways!

If you're a teacher or parent, perhaps my comments will lead to a discussion about the Maasai and Kenya. And, at the risk of sounding preachy, I caution writers and editors to delve further, to have the text and illustrations vetted by someone who knows a culture well, before they write or publish a book about a particular group. A picture book’s story must be engaging for youngsters — and it should also accurately reflect the culture described.

Any comments about my comments?