Proverbs meets Africa in this story of Rfaud Raksha (a young Tanzanian wildebeest), a unique book by a local author. By longstanding tradition, he must learn African Survival Wisdom's Antelope Narrative before undertaking Circle Ceremony and his first Great Migration.
What makes this book fun is that Carlson manages to deftly and humorously weave several passages from the Bible (mostly Proverbs, but also some gospels) into advice to the young wildebeest.
An example:
"My son, if savanna hyenas tempt you,
if jackals of the serengheti coax you, saying,
'Come with us, let us lie in wait for bongo flank steaks,
let us prowl the plains for innocent zebra foals;
let us swallow waterbucks alive like quicksand..."
Illustrator Alphonce Omondi Oketch (an artist and award-winning political cartoonist known throughout Africa as "Ozone") depicts the animals and savanna accurately yet comically (similar in style to "Stand Back," Said the Elephant, "I'm Going to Sneeze!"). He also includes helpful maps to help you understand the area of migration of the wildebeests.
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