Akimbo and the Elephants

McCall Smith, famous for his Ladies' Detective Agency mysteries, has written a top-notch children's story; young listeners will be transported to the heart of Africa, to plains where the grass "grows taller than a man." In Akimbo's dry, hot world, elephants still roam wild; the boy lives near a game reserve where his father protects the park and its creatures. The story is sobering: Akimbo is stirred to action when he witnesses a baby elephant orphaned by ruthless poachers who want the mother elephant's ivory tusks. Not only is McCall Smith a wonderful writer, he's a wonderful reader, and his dignified voice adds great depth to the listening experience. Children and adults alike will hang on his words as they accompany Akimbo on his brave and dangerous mission: catching the poachers who kill the elephants he loves. J.C.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine

September 5, 2005
This fast-paced tale launches Smith's (the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency mysteries) paper-over-board series starring Akimbo, who lives on the edge of an African game reserve. The lad is horrified when he and his ranger father come across a dead elephant, the victim of a gang of poachers who have killed it for its tusks. The boy surreptitiously takes a tusk from his father's storeroom as bait and promises to lead a poacher to a stash of another gang's booty if the man will teach him how they kill their prey. The narrative at times errs on the side of melodrama (e.g., watching the fallen elephant's calf wait for its mother to get up, Akimbo "declared war on the poachers"), but Smith effectively builds suspense. The boy realizes he is being stalked by an animal in the darkness, then narrowly escapes from a charging rhino. Akimbo emerges as a hero after leading his father and another ranger back to the poachers. The tale's brevity, Smith's concise writing and Pham's evocative full-page half-tone illustrations make this an attractive choice for reluctant readers. Akimbo and the Lions
(1-58234-687-9) is also due out this month. Ages 7-up.