Kimeto’s Journey

Kimeto’s Journey
by Maureen Ulrich
Published by Flatlands Press
Review by Sally Meadows
$17.99 ISBN 9781778296574

While watching over his family’s cattle grazing on Kenyan rangelands, eleven-year-old Kimeto spots a leather strap hanging from an acacia tree, a sure sign of a poacher’s snare. The next morning on their way to school, he and his two younger sisters come across the carcass of a large elephant. Splashing noises nearby lead them to a baby elephant struggling to escape the muddy red waters of a steep-sided well. Despite the potential danger to himself, Kimeto slips in to help. As he comforts the baby elephant, he begins to bond with her. When two park rangers finally arrive, the three of them manage to rescue the elephant calf. What will happen to her next? Has Kimeto made her life better–or worse?

The bulk of this middle grade (ages 8-14) coming-of-age novel documents Kimeto’s journey to the wildlife sanctuary in Nairobi to find out the little elephant’s fate. Along the way, the reader is given a fascinating glimpse into the Kenyan cultural landscape. The juxtaposition of the traditional way of life of the rural Maasai against modern-day perils in the big city makes a compelling story as it introduces and explores tough realities such as orphaned children with HIV, youth gangs, poverty, and government and institutional corruption. Through his journey, Kimeto’s initial, modest longing simply to be able to go to school blossoms into a dream with a much deeper calling.

The book includes a front-matter glossary to which readers can refer, as author Maureen Ulrich embeds authentic dialect into her text throughout. It is a strategy that, along with Ulrich’s rich descriptive narrative, makes us feel that we are right there in Africa experiencing exactly what Kimeto does.

I loved how Ulrich seamlessly connects the first line of the book to the very last sentence, expounding how a single unexpected encounter can lead to an adventure that changes one’s life forever.

Maureen Ulrich is a retired Middle Years teacher, playwright, and author who lives on an acreage near Lampman. Ulrich was inspired to write this story after a two-week visit to Kenya in 2014 where she was profoundly impacted by the kindness and wisdom of the locals.

THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM.