The sound of her brother's scream echoed on and on in her head as though it would never end. "Let me go!" she demanded stupidly in English. The African boy dug his nails into Keri's arm and brought the knife closer to her face.
Civil war is tearing Mozambique, Africa, apart. And whether she realizes it or not the war is about to become very real to Keri Anderson. While bringing clothes to a village in desperate need, the Anderson family is stranded in the middle of enemy territory and kidnapped by armed rebels.
By night, the Andersons and some friendly villagers are forced to march deep into the bush. When Vovô, Keri's African "grandfather," is left behind on the trail to die, Keri is furious with her dad for letting it happen and terrified for her own safety.
What if the rebels decided she was holding them up? What if they left her behind as well? Would Dad protect her? Or would he abandon her like Vovô?
Who do you trust when no one can protect you and even God doesn't seem to care?
About Writing The Wooden Ox:
When I first began writing
The Wooden Ox, it seemed like readers needed to understand all about the war and the desperate situation of the years that we lived in Mozambique. I wrote a chapter about Keri and Kurt home schooling in their garage in Maputo (like we did) and another about loading up the car to get ready to go to Gaza Province to distribute clothes (like we did). I was smart enough to figure out that those chapters wouldn’t interest anyone but my own family who had experienced them. I cut both chapters and worked the necessary information into the chapter about traveling in the military convoy to Gaza. That revised chapter was the first thing I presented to my new critique group of other children’s writers in Indianapolis, Indiana. They were very gracious and praised my writing. Finally one woman said, “I think you should start on page 9.” Page 9? Did she realize that I had already cut two chapters? Maybe I could start on page 7. But she was right. The final text started on page 9 and only included half a page from the earlier eight—the bit about the shot-up farmhouse.
Writing Tip
I heartily recommend critique groups, although you may have to shop around to find a group that works for you. Their purpose is to help each member become a better writer, but for critique to work, you have to be willing to take advice. My theory is that there are two kinds of people who can’t learn: dead people and those who think they already know it all.
***
Book Club Discussion Starters
There are more questions here than can be satisfactorily answered in a one-hour discussion. Not all may be appropriate for the age level or spiritual maturity of your group.
1. Contrast how the war affected Keri and Kurt before they were kidnapped and how it affected Mozambicans.
2. Why was the wooden ox important to Kurt? Do you think it was hard for him to give it away?
3. Why do you think the parents used code words like ‘the situation’ instead of talking openly about the war? Do you think Kurt and Keri would have been better off talking about what was happening, or would that have made them unnecessarily afraid?
4. Why didn’t Dad ‘save’ Pastor Makusa? What do you think he would have done if Commander Dube had threatened to leave Keri, Kurt or their mother behind?
5. Leila wanted to return to Lomweland. If her mother, Mamani Argentina, had the opportunity to go home, do you think she would go? Why or why not?
6. What did Keri think Mfana was like when she first met him? How did he change? How easy do you think it was for Mfana to go back to ‘normal’ life?
7. How did the following people show faith? Pastor Makusa, Kurt, Mom, Dad, Keri
When did each find faith the hardest? Why? Has there been a time when you found it hard to trust God?
8. God answered Keri’s prayer for Sarita with a ‘no.’ What if he had answered her prayer for Mfana the same way’? Why does God sometimes say ‘yes’ and sometimes say ‘no’?
9. If you were trying to decide whether or not to move to a country in civil war, you might make a list of ‘pros’ (reasons to do it) and ‘cons’ (reasons not to). What would you put in each column? Would you have made the same decision as the Andersons?
10. Kurt and Keri had the opportunity to see how others live as they observed the refugees on the coluna and distributed clothes to needy people. What experiences have you had that helped you to sympathize with hurting people?
***
More Books about Africa
If you enjoyed
The Wooden Ox, try some of these other books about African life. This is only a sampling of our family’s favorites. For
more books about Africa, many published outside North America, see my Goodreads page or ask your librarian to help you.
For young adults:
AK by Peter Dickinson (1993). Laurel Leaf.
Readers of The Wooden Ox will appreciate this adventure story about a former child soldier in a fictional African country. Dickinson does not simplify the painful realities of African politics.
A Coalition of Lions by Elizabeth Wein. (2002). New York, Viking.
This gripping sequel to The Winter Prince puts a twist on the traditional tale of King Arthur and shows sixth century Ethiopia as more culturally advanced than Europe of the same period. See also The Sunbird by the same author.
A Girl Named Disaster by Nancy Farmer (1996). New York, Orchard.
Eleven-year-old Nhamo risks her life traveling alone from Mozambique to Zimbabwe. Nancy Farmer plays with African spirituality in this adventure story.
The Heaven Shop by Deborah Ellis (2004). Allston, MN, Fitzhenry and Whiteside.
Binti’s father runs a brisk business selling coffins until real life catches up with him, and Binti becomes just another AIDS orphan. Ellis traces a typical scenario for one of Africa’s 12 million orphans. Proceeds go to UNICEF.
Jock of the Bushveld by Percy Fitzpatrick (2002). Johannesburg, South Africa, Donker.
Look for a modern edition of this classic dog story set amidst the Transvaal gold rush. It is a great adventure, but earlier editions are marred by the racist sentiments of the period. Don’t settle for the watered down picture book ‘retelling’.
Memories of Sun, edited by Jane Kurtz. (2004). New York, Greenwillow.
This collection of short stories and poems by authors from both continents describes life in various African countries and some of the experiences and impressions of Americans in Africa and Africans in America.
The Rugendo Rhinos Series by Shel Arensen. (2003) Includes
The Poison Arrow Tree, The Carjackers, The Secret Oath, and
Poachers Beware! Grand Rapids, Kregel.
Missionary kids in Kenya and their African friends have adventures and stop crime. Readers of this fun series will be begging their parents to move to Africa.
For mature readers:
The Covenant by James Michener (1980). New York, Mandarin.
Published before the events that led to the first democratic elections in 1994, the history of South Africa is otherwise effectively told in the stories of individuals down through the generations.
Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton (1951). New York, Scribners.
Both faith and suffering are described in this classic story of the separation of the races in twentieth-century South African.
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (1998). New York, Harper Perennial.
The author is unsympathetic to missionaries, but otherwise portrays with love and deep insight the turbulent years surrounding the independence of the former Belgian Congo.
