Reviews

'Actually, we're not really supposed to name the author, since these airmail letters pretend to be the work of Christopher de Nerento, our 10-year-old Maasai pen-pal. Christopher (he got his name from his Bible teacher) has four mums and spends a lot of time fetching water. His ambition is to be an elder and own a lot of cows - or maybe to become a vet and have a house with moving staircases like we have in our cities.

In the meantime, his illustrated letters tell you more about his country than most guidebooks for grown-ups. That's right. This book is for 10-year-olds. But if you can't find a kid to buy it for, you'll just have to pretend.'

Guardian Book Review 28 May 1999