Thursday, May 13, 2010

Escape Under the Forever Sky

This book is exciting and fun. It was inspired by the true story of a young Ethiopian girl who was sheltered by lions overnight while running away from kidnappers. Note: This is not a true story, the similarities end there, the incident is simply what inspired the author to write this book.

An ambassadors young daughter is kidnapped while living in Ethiopia. She manages to escape and has quite an adventure getting home. Her hero is Jane Goodall and her contemporaries, and she uses her knowledge of wildlife to survive in the wilds.

This book has something for everyone. Encounters with lion and monkeys for the animal lover, intrigue and danger for the mystery minded, action and bad guys for the adventurer, history and politics for the curious and intellectual.

I would recommend this book for everyone, but especially for children about 9-14, with a prime audience being preteen girls.


This book has tons of teaching opportunities. It would be great with a unit study, to incorporate literature in your lessons, or to ease familiarity with the following topics:

Science:
Scientific Method
Jane Goodall
Animal Science
Animals of Africa
Habitats and Animal Behaviors
Leakey's Angels
Foreign Diseases
Water Treatment

Geography / Humanities / Social Studies / Government / History:
Water Supplies
Ambassadors
Africa
Ethiopia

Literature:
Story Origins