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CM . . .
. Volume XIII Number 18 . . . . April 27, 2007
excerpt:
What do you get when you cross a degree in zoology with creative writing talent? David Jones's Baboon, a young adult 'biological science fiction' novel that will appeal to readers who enjoy the science fiction genre, readers whose preference is animal stories and readers who like a fast-paced adventure. Fourteen-year-old Gerry lives part of the year in England and part in Africa where his parents' scientific research is the study of baboons in their native habitat. En route to Tanzania, the family's plane crashes, and, when Gerry regains consciousness, he realizes he has somehow been transformed into a creature with a human mind and a baboon body. He has become one of the very animals to which his parents have dedicated their career. Gerry undergoes interesting changes as he joins a baboon troop and must adapt to their lives. His senses of sight and smell radically improve. And baboon cuisine becomes like an episode of Fear Factor as Gerry learns to eat bugs and mice. Jones's background in zoology is evident in his clear and detailed descriptions of the troop. Individual baboons develop personalities according to their roles in the group as well as in their interactions with Gerry thanks to Jones's ability to portray them so accurately. Interestingly, as Gerry becomes more and more comfortable with his baboon family, he begins to lose some human characteristics. Counting and time-keeping become difficult; reading and writing almost impossible. The airplane crash is the catalyst for Gerry's bizarre experience, and just in the final chapters Jones comes up with an equally plausible way for Gerry to re-enter his human body and rejoin his family. And does everyone believe his fantastic story? Or was it a dream brought on by his comatose state? This is largely irrelevant since Gerry, and the readers, live each 'baboon moment' so realistically. Perhaps more interesting is the question of whether the lessons Gerry has learned regarding not just survival but being part of a group in the animal kingdom can be transferred to the human world. Students will learn an astonishing number of facts about baboons in this novel as Jones deals with everything from their food and habitat to the complex relationships and code of manners within the troop. But, like Gerry, readers feel we are living this from the inside out as opposed to reading a textbook on primates. As chapters average 12 pages in length, the novel is approachable, both in theme and format, even for reluctant readers. So whether your preference is fiction with a focus on animals, or science fiction with a brain inhabiting an entirely different body, or adventure where every chapter leaves you anxious to read on, Baboon is sure to please. Highly Recommended. Ann Ketcheson, a retired teacher-librarian and teacher of high school English and French, lives in Ottawa, ON.
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