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Summary
Summary
Ten-year-old Akimbo lives on a game preserve in Africa. His father is the head ranger, and Akimbo is eager to help him whenever he can--even if it means getting into some pretty dangerous situations.
In Akimbo and the Lions , Akimbo helps his father set a trap for a lioness that has been attacking cattle on nearby farms. But when the lion they catch turns out to be a cub, Akimbo must find a way to care for the young lion until it's old enough to be released in the wild.
Author Notes
Alexander McCall Smith was born on August 24, 1948 in Zimbabwe. He was a professor of medical law at the University of Edinburgh, but he left in 2005 to focus on his writing. He has written over 60 books, including specialist academic titles including Forensic Aspects of Sleep and The Criminal Law of Botswana, short story collections including Portuguese Irregular Verbs, and children's books including The Perfect Hamburger. He is best known for the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. He also writes the Corduroy Mansions, Isabel Dalhousie and 44 Scotland Street series.
He has received numerous awards, including The Crime Writers' Association Dagger in the Library Award and the 2004 United Kingdom's Author of the Year Award. His book, The Full Cupboard of Life, received the Saga Award for Wit in the United Kingdom. In 2007, he received a CBE for his services in literature.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Akimbo and the Elephants; Akimbo and the Lions Alexander McCall Smith, illus. by LeUyen Pham. Bloomsbury, $4.95 each ISBN 978-1-59990-031-5; 978-1-59990-032-2. A boy living on the edge of an African wildlife preserve must help stop poachers hungry for ivory tusks and lions that prey on a cattle farm. The tales' brevity, Smith's concise writing and Pham's evocative half-tone illustrations make these an attractive choice for reluctant readers, in PW's words. Ages 7-9. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Young Akimbo lives on the edge of a huge game reserve in an unspecified African country. In each book, Akimbo takes action to help wild animals, in the first by outwitting ivory poachers and in the second by raising a lion cub. Akimbo may be unrealistically resourceful and brave, but children will enjoy his triumphs and the well-drawn setting. [Review covers these titles: Akimbo and the Elephants and Akimbo and the Lions.] (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
Gr. 3-5. By a well-known author of adult books, this story featuring a young boy, Akimbo, who lives "in the heart of Africa," conveys appreciation and respect for the African landscape, culture, and people, as well as a sense of the importance of wildlife conservation. Akimbo accompanies his father, a wildlife ranger, on an investigation of lion attacks on an area farm, where Akimbo finds a lion cub. He takes over the cub's care, but when it gets older, the boy knows that he must return his beloved cub to the wild. Akimbo emerges as a brave, caring protagonist who faces dilemmas and danger in the service of the animals and people he loves. The illustrations, which appear to be well-executed, soft-edged, black-and-white pictures, were not available in completed form in this galley. Pair this with Smith's Akimbo and the Elephants. --Shelle Rosenfeld Copyright 2005 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-3-The author of the adult "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" mystery series originally published these delightful children's stories in Great Britain in the early 1990s. His short, illustrated chapter-book adventures will transport American readers to the plains of Africa where Akimbo lives with his parents on a Kenyan game reserve. His father works as a park ranger, and, on occasion, Akimbo is allowed to accompany him while he works. In Elephants, the two encounter a dead elephant, killed for its tusks. When the poachers aren't found immediately, Akimbo devises a plan to catch them in the act. After several suspenseful moments, the boy's simple, yet innocent plan works. In Lions, the child accompanies his father and other rangers as they investigate news of lion attacks. The plan is to trap the marauding animal and take it to another area, but by accident, they capture its cub. The African setting, dramatic full-page pencil illustrations, and the animal facts woven into the stories are sure to capture young readers.-Mary N. Oluonye, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Table of Contents
| A Lion Problem | p. 1 |
| The Trap | p. 11 |
| Lion! | p. 19 |
| Left Behind | p. 29 |
| Becoming Friends | p. 39 |
| Lion at School | p. 49 |
| Back to the Wild | p. 57 |
