Thirteen-year-old Tendai and his two younger siblings chafe at their sheltered lives as the children of 22nd century Zimbabwe's powerful General Matsika and slip out of their estate in search of adventure, which they find in abundance. Utterly lacking in street smarts, they are soon kidnapped to be enslaved among the underclass, then placed in further danger when their kidnappers discover their family connections, leading to a series of adventures that go beyond their own freedom.

Their parents are frantic at their children's disappearance and powerless, despite having the police force at their disposal. In desperation, they hire the private detectives named in the title, a set of well-meaning mutants, who doggedly pursue the children. ( )

The Eye the Ear and the Arm was a great book set in the future in Zimbabwe, Africa. Three kids, Tendai, Rita and Kuda which are the great General Masika’s children, get kidnapped after deciding to go on a small trip into the city. They get caught up all over the cities underground but eventually are saved when the great detectives, The Eye the Ear and the Arm find them on the mile high villa in an ambassadors office. The story sometimes gets very confusing but works out well in the end. Overall the book is very well written and I enjoyed it greatly. Andrew

The Ear, the Eye and the Arm is a science fiction story set in Zimbabwe in the year 2194. Three siblings are the main characters Tendai,the oldest brother, Rita, the middle sister, and Kuda, the youngest brother. Tendai appears to be the main protagonist as he struggles with his abilities and searches for his true calling. These children are kidnapped by criminals, then escape to a traditional folk village and then are held captive by a greedy women intent on receiving a reward for finding the children. Tendai eventually overcomes his fears and proves himself to be the hero.
The tale is rich with Zimbabwe culture and traditions. The book includes an appendix and glossary of terms used within the book. Terms include words that describe objects that are futuristic objects that the reader is not familiar as well as terms that are strictly related to culture of Zimbabwe. The appendix reveals nuances about the history and tribes of Zimbabwe that are useful to the reader to understand some of the story. I thought that this science fiction book proved to be a useful way for one to learn about the country of Zimbabwe.
Extension Activity 1(Language Arts Integrated) Study certain words used in the book for vocabulary.
Examples:
Chapter One
ancestors destiny virtues
reverence holograph holophone
mellow entranced benevolent

Chapter Nine
sober veer malicious
plasma gyrate


A complete list of potential vocabulary words by chapter are listed at http://www.masconomet.org/teachers/tr...
Some of the words have meaning only in relation to the novel.

Extension Activity 2: Break the students into groups. The size of the group will vary, but be sure to include the following topics that relate to Zimbabwe.
1. Land and Resources: This would include natural regions, rivers and lakes, plant and animal life, and climate
2. People and Society: This would include ethnic groups and languages, religion, education, and way of life.
3. Economy and Government: This would include industry, agriculture, mining, energy, foreign trade, and currency. This would also include the branches of the government and how they work.
4. History: This would include early civilizations, the Portuguese Influence, the Rozwi Empire and the Bdebele, the British South Africa Company, Zimbabwe African People’s Union, and an independent Zimbabwe.
Each group will have time to research their topic in the material provided by the teacher, such as certain pages from a encyclopedia article on Zimbabwe that clearly covers each given topic. The students will then present what they learned about their topic to the class.

Activity 3: Have the students draw or write about some sort of invention that they think will be available in the year 2194. Then give the students a chance to present their ideas to the class. ( )

wonderful YA sci/fi. There needs to be more books like this one with characters and culture all tied up with the sci/fi parts. ( )

A dark and tantalizing adventure story that both teens and adults will find interesting. I was constantly propelled by the great descriptions and characterizations. You will fall in love with all the main characters, especially the Ear, the Eye, and the Arm... ( )