A Story of Stories – My Book Review

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Simon and Schuster ~ Bookshop.org

“Stories, my birditos, come in all shapes and sizes. Some are long. Some are short. Some make us smile and other make us…well…a little weepy. And then there are stories that leave us with an open-ended question…..”

Once Upon a Camel is a story that swiftly became endearing to my heart for specific reasons.  One is how Kathi Appelt wove the story of Zada, a camel from Turkey, and two young American kestrels into a story based on historical facts of the US Army bringing camels to Texas in the mid-1800s.  Appelt weaves historical camel facts with impeccable fiction.

I first heard about the U.S. Army camels and their historical story around 2006 when I was working trying to save a Texas historical ranch. Then I got to meet some real camels living in Texas.

Two, this story is a story of stories. Once Upon a Camel  is a story about Zada and her life in Turkey and the United States. It is also a story of how Zada saves two baby American kestrels from a severe sandstorm and all the perils entailed with that feat.

This book is geared towards children but even adults will also enjoy this gem of a book. Yes – there are some big words in this book for kids and thankfully Kathi offers a glossary at the end.

Once Upon a Camel is a story that I love and highly recommend it for children because it weaves historical facts into an imaginary tale about a camel saving baby birds.

“From their very beginnings, they have slept beneath the stars. They’ve seen the Pleiades scatter their meteors across the desert floor. They’ve watched comets come streaking overhead, tails blazing. They’ve fallen asleep to the songs of star-bears, their lullabies soft in their ears.”

Kathi saved the best for the very last… we all have stories to tell to help us make sense of this crazy world and we need to share them. Thank you, Kathi, for sharing Zada’s story.

A particular shout-out to illustrator Eric Rohmann on all the drawings for this book. Artistically they enhanced this story with perfection that carried the words and emotions of the story even further.