A few months ago I caught wind that a homeschooling mamma had followed her passion and written a book. Not just any book, but a book that fit needs she saw. A book written about homeschoolers, for homeschoolers {and others}, that is full of vivid characters and places making the reader want to return to it again and again. Here’s a description of the book, Seekers Of The Lost Boy, directly from the author:
Set in Cape Town, South Africa, Seekers of the Lost Boy is an adventure that brings a homeschooling family face to face with the atrocities of their apartheid past. It begins when 12-year-old Simon finds a bottle on the water’s edge during a visit to Muizenberg beach on a cold winter’s day. He brings the bottle home, dreaming of adventures, pirates and hidden treasures, only to have the bottle shatter within minutes of returning home. At first he is dismayed, but his disappointment is soon turned to intrigue when he discovers an envelope in the bottle. It contains a letter written 30 years prior by another 12-year-old school boy from the poverty-stricken Cape Flats. The letter is brief and contains one question: Who is God and does he care about me? The letter fascinates the Ward family, so they embark on a journey of discovery. Through clues left in the letter, Simon, his mom and his twin 10-year-old siblings, Nic and Kim, find themselves revisiting their country’s apartheid past as they search for their mystery letter-writer.
Our book arrived at our front door causing lots of commotion as the boys wondered what the book was about and how I got the author to sign our copy. We had a slight delay in starting it, but once we did the rest was history. As we were reading one evening and I laid the book down Morgan asked me not to read too fast because he wanted the book to last forever. But then upon thinking it through he said, “But read it quickly enough I can find out what happens. Can you do that? Can you make it last forever and read quickly?”
The book is a delightful read with many cliff hanger chapters that kept the kids asking for more. We enjoyed following Simon and his siblings through their journey to discover more about the contents of the bottle he found one windy afternoon.
How We Used Seekers of the Lost Boy:
This is pretty simple in the essence that we simply opened it up and read it. It makes a lovely read aloud as it is, but as we’re studying Children Around The World this year with a heavy focus on Geography we read this book for our week of introduction to Africa. It was a perfect accompaniment to see the past and the present in part of Africa.
It was easy for my children to relate, in small ways to the predicaments mentioned in the book considering their knowledge of the Native American & Aborigine’s pasts in their own respective countries. That is not to say they weren’t surprised by it, it’s not something we often think of outside of one’s own country. It led to many deep and thoughtful conversations as well which I always love.
The boys Australian Grandmother {known fondly as Nana around here} was visiting us during the week we read this book. We actually thought she was taking her usual morning nap upon the couch when we read, but she joined in the discussions and mentioned what a sad and yet very beautiful story it was. The book tells of some of the unsavory past for people that were not white within Africa, thus the sadness. Yet she found it beautiful due to the honesty of the mistakes made and the fact that while it can never be undone, amends were being attempted. There was also the fact that a certain character, all though deeply effected by the past, made something incredibly beautiful of himself.
What We Loved About Seekers Of The Lost Boy
I loved that the book captivated my children from the get-go. I pulled the book off our shelf and laid it upon the coffee table for children to peek in the day before I had planned to read it. Upon waking up my youngest begged to know what the cover of the book was all about, “It’s teasing me to know more, tell me what it means!” We read a couple of chapters while we waited for Daddy to be ready for breakfast.
Many of the chapters were true cliffhangers. I always love that, I think it’s the sign of a good book which is very difficult to put down. It also inspires many conversations of, “What’s going to happen to…” “Did you ever feel that way?”
I loved the view we had of another country and the honesty its history was told from. It’s easy to forget where one has come from, and while it’s not wise to always dwell on the past, the past serves to teach us how we can do better. I think this book did a wonderful job balancing that very fact!
In the back of Seekers of The Lost Boy is a series of questions entitled, “What was real?” We loved reading through them to sort out fact from fiction, and were delighted to see that the majority of what we’d read was all true in some manner or another.
I loved the message of God’s love through forgiveness was shared in an open and gentle manner. There were no complicated words or need for descriptions of words and phrases as we read through that section. It was simple enough for my children to understand and delightful to read.
The South African terms within the book. How many times this year have we read books, in our own, that take place in other countries and I’m left scratching my head trying to figure out how it’s said and what it means! This book has a little guide in the back that tells you what it means and how to pronounce it. Mind you, many of the terms were ones we use in Australia, but there were still several we weren’t sure of.
Bottom Line:
My kids loved Seekers of The Lost Boy and I knew it would be a hit the minute my eldest said, “Read it slowly so we can read this book forever, but read it quickly so I know what happens! Can you do that Mom?”
A Quick Note about Seekers Of The Lost Boy:
As stated above we read this book in exchange for a review. However, you can easily obtain this book from a variety of book shops within South Africa. Living in another country? Not a problem! You can pick this book up via Book Depository which offers free shipping to most countries around the world. It’s also available at Amazon for Kindle or as a hard copy!
FREE Seekers of The Lost Boy Unit Study
The Author is currently offering a FREE UNIT STUDY go accompany this book! What a great way to spend some of that unexpected time at home with your loved ones. Also, if you own KINDLE ULIMITED {currently free for 2 months due to COVID} you can take advantage of reading this book for FREE.
You can check out what other books Kendra & the gang are reading over at her blog: Aussie Pumpkin Patch.
You might also like:
Originally published November 2013
Thank you, Kendra, for a wonderful review of Seekers of the Lost Boy. I love your boys’ responses. My publishers will be delighted to know that the cover was also cause for great excitement! Blessings to you!