 Sophie and the Albino Camel – by Steve Davies
Published by Anderson Press.
A charming and quite beautiful children’s book.
Truth be told, I wouldn’t have come across this book had it not been written by Steve Davies, aka Sahel Steve, a mission worker based in Gorom Gorom, Burkina Faso. Steve is an excellent writer, and has penned some very tasty travel pieces, as well as this delightful book, and his long running blog Voice In the Desert.
As well as Steve’s prose, which is at once interesting and evocative, the book carries great line art by illustrator Dave Shelton.
The story is about Sophie and her adventures when she goes off into the desert on the back of an Albino camel, she’s not alone, her partner on the dangerous trail is Gidaado, whose local knowledge makes up for Sophie’s naivety.
This is a fantastic short novel, which not only draws young readers into the story, but also helps to paint a vivid picture of life in a very different part of the world to that which most of us live in.
Just as he does in his travel writing, Steve Davies manages to summon up the essence of the country in this novel, which will teach youngsters more about life and the world than they will realise.
It also has a great baddy!!
It’s a wonderful adventure, all the better for having a female protagonist, and in short an enviable start for this promising novelist. A sequel, Sophie and the Locust Curse is in the works – a story about ‘resourcefulness and creativity in the face of suffering’ which, in light of the current situation in that part of the world, is all the more important. |
