ONCE UPON A CAMEL
By Kathi Appelt
Categories: Middle Grade Fiction / Historical / Friendship / Ages 8-12
Publisher: Atheneum / Caitlyn Dlouhy Books
Pub Date: September 7, 2021
Pages: 336 pages
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Zada is a camel with a treasure trove of stories to tell. She’s won camel races for the royal Pasha of Smyrna, crossed treacherous oceans to new land, led army missions with her best camel friend by her side, and outsmarted a far too pompous mountain lion.
But those stories were from before. Now, Zada wanders the desert as the last camel in Texas. But she’s not alone. Two tiny kestrel chicks are nestled in the fluff of fur between her ears—kee-killy-keeing for their missing parents—and a dust storm the size of a mountain is taking Zada on one more grand adventure. And it could lead to this achy old camel’s most brilliant story yet
Simon and Schuster~ Bookshop.org
What an enticing tale to encourage young readers. I think this is a book my great-niece would enjoy with the characters, history, and the stories within the story.
This adventure follows Zada, a camel that has made her way to Texas from the middle east. We learn about Zada’s life growing up in Smyrna and what happened to her once she arrived in Texas and how she came to be in Texas. This is all told through stories to two Kestrel chicks that have been separated from their parents during a haboob or windstorm. Haboobs aren’t common to Texas so we would call it something else but that brings in a new word for the reader. As Zada and the chicks take shelter in a cave, she has to worry if the mountain lion will be there and decide to attack or if they will be able to ride out the storm in peace. Thankfully, it is the former, but this is when the stories really begin and there is even a story that involves the lion that Zada wisely saves for when it is needed to protect them.
The two Kestrel chicks are a hoot and are constantly bugging each other and it reminds me of any family with children that complain about someone touching them, or crossing a line, or just basically bugging their sibling. However, Zada is able to bring calm and peace to the situation with her stories and keep the chicks safe while entertaining them so they don’t get into trouble.
Each story is magical and I loved the illustrations that accompany the book. I appreciated the dates at the beginning of each chapter so I knew if this was Zada’s past or more of her present.
This is not only an entertaining book but one that is educational as well. I learned things about camels, weather, birds (especially Kestrels), history, and so much more. I really enjoy it when a story incorporates history in a fun way that you don’t realize you are learning something new.
We give this book 5 paws up.
Kathi Appelt is the author of the Newbery Honoree, National Book Award finalist, and bestselling The Underneath as well as the National Book Award Finalist The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp, Maybe a Fox (with Alison McGhee), Keeper, and many picture books including Counting Crows and Mogie, the Heart of the House. She lives in College Station, Texas, with her husband and five gifted and talented cats.
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Three signed copies of the book
(US only. Ends midnight, CDT, 10/9/21)
Visit the Lone Star Literary Life Tour Page
For direct links to each post on this tour, updated daily.
Or, visit the blogs directly:
| 9/29/21 | Book Trailer | The Clueless Gent |
| 9/29/21 | Review | StoreyBook Reviews |
| 9/30/21 | Excerpt | That’s What She’s Reading |
| 9/30/21 | Review | The Plain-Spoken Pen |
| 9/30/21 | BONUS Promo | LSBBT Blog |
| 10/1/21 | Review | Forgotten Winds |
| 10/1/21 | BONUS Review | Hall Ways Blog |
| 10/2/21 | Review | Missus Gonzo |
| 10/3/21 | Video Guest Post | All the Ups and Downs |
| 10/4/21 | Review | The Page Unbound |
| 10/5/21 | Guest Post | Chapter Break Book Blog |
| 10/5/21 | Review | Stories Under Starlight |
| 10/6/21 | Review | Julia Picks 1 |
| 10/7/21 | Scrapbook Page | The Adventures of a Travelers Wife |
| 10/7/21 | Review | Reading by Moonlight |
| 10/8/21 | Review | It’s Not All Gravy |
| 10/8/21 | Review | Book Bustle |
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I learned so much from this book, too. Vocabulary, history, animal habits. And best part is it all is woven into those fabulous stories. Thanks for a great review.
You won’t be disappointed! Great for all ages
It’s hard to resist a book with a cover like this and a story about a camel! Thanks for the review to help me decide to buy it.
It really was quite delightful!
What a great review! I enjoyed the book, too.