Threatened.

Schrefer, Eliot.  Threatened.  Scholastic Press  2014  278p  $17.99  ISBN 978-0-545-55143-4  ms/hs  Realistic fiction  E-BN     

This is the compelling story of Luc (a poverty-stricken orphan living in Gabon) overcoming his fear of “mock men” (chimpanzees) to champion their cause and save their forest.  The story starts with Luc living in debt in Franceville, Gabon.  Luc and the other orphans live under the corrupt rule of Monsieur Tatagani and work for pennies at the local café to pay off their debt.  The arrival of Professor Abdul Mohammed of the University of Leipzig to study chimpanzees provides Luc with a way out of his enslavement by becoming the professor’s helper.

The trek into the forest to observe the chimpanzees becomes a story about mutual understanding, developing respect for the feelings of humans and animals, forming friendships between humans and animals, and accepting responsibility for others.  Animal enthusiasts will gain an understanding of the political and symbiotic make-ups of the chimpanzee environment, and will learn that love, dependency, strength, and cooperation also play an important role in the world of the chimpanzee.
                 

Summary: This is the compelling story of Luc (a poverty-stricken orphan living in Gabon) overcoming his fear of “mock men” (chimpanzees) to champion their cause and save their forest.

Chimpanzees-Fiction                                   --Linda McNeil   

Schrefer, Eliot. Endangered.

Schrefer, Eliot.   Endangered.  Scholastic/Grolier                 264p      $17.99   978-0-545-16576-1         2012        ms/hs  VG-BN      Realistic fiction                                

This story starts in Kinshasa, the capital of the Congo, when Sophie, a young Congolese girl, comes to visit her mother for the summer.  During her trip to her mother’s sanctuary for bonobos, she buys an orphan bonobo from a peddler who is mistreating the young bonobo.  This action on her part does not make her mother very happy because it is against governmental laws.  However, before things are able to get sorted out, Sophie and Otto (the bonobo) become very much attached to each other, and a country-wide revolution erupts.

The political unrest starts after Sophie’s mother leaves to reintroduce some bonobos into a wildlife sanctuary.  The sanctuary is attacked by revolutionists and the servants are all killed.  Sophie takes refuge inside the bonobos’ electrified enclosure until the solar-powered setup fails.  At this point Sophie is forced to leave, entering the crosshairs of the conflict, “where bullet holes have bullet holes”.  She comes face-to-face with what one must do “to keep safe, to eat, and to live”.

This is a story about the problems of a third-world country and the love that encompasses humans (in this case, Sophie) and animals.

Note: “Throughout this book, ‘Congo’ refers to the Democratic Republic of Congo (the country formerly known as ‘Zaire’), not neighboring Congo-Brazzaville.          

Congo-Fiction, Human-animal bonding-Fiction, Revolution-Fiction                                                   --Linda McNeil