Review: Masai And I Encourages Kids To Learn About Their Family History

I am Black and Filipino, and my ancestors came from Africa and Asia. I have always wondered what it would be like to live on one of those continents. I know I’d eat different foods and would speak another language. My school would be different, and maybe my name. Virginia Kroll’s Masai and I is about a little girl named Linda who feels a sort of kinship with her Masai culture, and thinks about how her life would be different if she was living in East Africa.

This book will encourage kids to look at their family’s past and learn a little more about their culture. This book will teach kids how to be proud of who they are.

After Linda learns about the Masai people, she wonders about what her life would be like if she were living with them in Africa, where her ancestors lived. She tells the readers how she would live in a hut made from cowhide instead of a house made out of wood. Instead of bathing in scented soap, she would crush sweet-smelling leaves on her shiny skin to smell nice.

The easy-to-understand passages are filled with description so young boys and girls can understand it. The illustrations by Nancy Carpenter are vivid and make the story come alive. Just from looking at the cover picture, I could almost hear Linda’s feet pounding to the ground, her laugh lingering.

This book is geared toward younger children around the age of six or seven. In addition to being an enjoyable and diverse read, the story is packed with information about the Masai people and could be a good story for teachers.

I rate this story three out of four roses.