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... ( )

http://www.lonelymountain.net/books/o... ( )

Nancy Farmer does a great job of using a standard plot to develop a very non-standard story. Set what seems to be the near future in Zimbabwe, the story is of naive and over-protected rich kids turned loose in a world of enormous contrasts.

Part of their adventure is set in a vast domain of abandoned trash and refuse, where slaves mine for valuables. Another part is spent in a protected preserve where the residents have returned to the idyllic live of ancient ancestors. The children find strength and resourcefulness they didn't know they had to survive and keep one step ahead of the evil forces. Unfortunately, they are also one step ahead of the detectives their father has sent to find them.

There is enough science, derring-do and fancy weapons to satisfy the action fan, enough soul-searching and discovery of hidden feelings to satisfy the introspective reader, and enough humor to satisfy everyone. ( )

My mom read this to us when we were kids and I remember liking it so much that I picked it up again. It's definitely for young adults, but still a good read. ( )

In Zimbabwe 2194, the General's sheltered children are kidnapped and have to escape from the plastic mine. They are tracked by the E.E.A. detective agency, while they escape repeatedly from different captors, all the while becoming more resourceful and courageous. An engrossing, humorous, creative story.

Nancy Farmer writes a unique science fiction, mystery, and adventure targeted for children, but well-written and intricate plot. In fact some of the details are graphic and gruesome that could give a good chill to a child. The book is set in 2194 in Harare, Zimbabwe - a futuristic city with mile-high skyscrapers, flying buses, and subways ruled by ruthless gangs. Yet the traditional ways of the Shona are still vibrant in the modern society. Three children of the stern Chief of Security - Tendai, Rita, and Kuda - escape their well-secured home for an adventure only to be kidnapped. They are taken to the vlei a former toxic waste dump where the children are forced to mine plastic, then they escape to Resthaven a reserve set aside for traditional Shona tribal life and finally face down the evil gang of Masks atop the swaying mile-high skyscraper. The titular detectives actually don't do too much in tracking down the children, but are interesting characters in how they represent how people overcome physical disabilities and Farmer explores their emotional life well, especially when the Arm bonds with a baby that is disowned by the people of Resthaven. A highly enjoyable and recommended book to read. ( )

This is a wonderful story made even more rich with Nancy Farmers vivid descriptions. It's beautifully written, and the originallity of the story makes it a refreshing addition to any library. While it's apparently geared toward children (middle grade to teen), the complexity of the story coupled with Nancy Farmer's wonderful storytelling, will captivate adults as well.
( )

The book is a fantasy adventure involving three siblings who leave their sheltered life and take off in the year 2194 in Zimbabwe to earn scout badges. Their adventure into the city finds them lost in an area of the city that has been devastated by chemical contamination. Their desperate parents hire three detectives with mystical powers to locate the lost children. Technological advances have created genetic blue monkeys that can talk, halophones, flying buses, housekeeping and pet robots, nirvana guns that induce sleep and much more. The story has many themes and different characters in each new setting which becomes rather complex; However, the story flows like a detective story with the reader following clues and predicting outcomes. The flow is consistent enough to keep the reader intrigued without being lost in the multiple scenarios the children encounter.Good read for middle school age children. ( )

Hazel Rochman (Booklist, Apr. 1, 1994 (Vol. 90, No. 15))
Even readers who don't like sf will be drawn to a hero who has a sense of humor about his serious mission. In Zimbabwe in the year 2194, the military ruler's 13-year-old son and his younger brother and sister leave their technologically overcontrolled home and find themselves on a series of perilous adventures. Tendai and his siblings encounter mile-high buildings and other miracles of scientific advance; they also find fetid slums and toxic waste dumps. As they're kidnapped by gangsters, forced to slave in a plastic mine, and accused of witchcraft, they're pursued by mutant detectives, who are both bumbling and sensitive and who always seem to be just one step behind rescuing the children. In the best section, the siblings find themselves in a traditional Shona village that at first seems idyllic but turns out to also encompass fierce sexism, ignorance, and disease. Throughout the story, it's the thrilling adventure that will grab readers, who will also like the comic, tender characterizations, not only of the brave, defiant trio and the absurd detectives, but also of nearly every one the kids meet, from street gangsters and spiritual healers to the English tribespeople with their weird customs. Tendai's spiritual coming-of-age is the least interesting part of the novel, but teens will like this teenager with "a hot line to the spirit world." Category: Older Readers. 1994, Orchard/Richard Jackson, $17.95 and $17.99. Gr. 7-10. ( )

A very refreshing different kind of book. ( )

Hazel Rochman (Booklist, Apr. 1, 1994 (Vol. 90, No. 15))
Even readers who don't like sf will be drawn to a hero who has a sense of humor about his serious mission. In Zimbabwe in the year 2194, the military ruler's 13-year-old son and his younger brother and sister leave their technologically overcontrolled home and find themselves on a series of perilous adventures. Tendai and his siblings encounter mile-high buildings and other miracles of scientific advance; they also find fetid slums and toxic waste dumps. As they're kidnapped by gangsters, forced to slave in a plastic mine, and accused of witchcraft, they're pursued by mutant detectives, who are both bumbling and sensitive and who always seem to be just one step behind rescuing the children. In the best section, the siblings find themselves in a traditional Shona village that at first seems idyllic but turns out to also encompass fierce sexism, ignorance, and disease. Throughout the story, it's the thrilling adventure that will grab readers, who will also like the comic, tender characterizations, not only of the brave, defiant trio and the absurd detectives, but also of nearly every one the kids meet, from street gangsters and spiritual healers to the English tribespeople with their weird customs. Tendai's spiritual coming-of-age is the least interesting part of the novel, but teens will like this teenager with "a hot line to the spirit world." Category: Older Readers. 1994, Orchard/Richard Jackson, $17.95 and $17.99. Gr. 7-10.
Won Best Books for Young Adults, 1995

http://books.dreamthoughts.org/scienc... ( )

An author who lived for years in Africa follows a comic, well-received first novel set in present-day Mozambique (Do You Know Me, 1993) with this marvelous odyssey across Zimbabwe 200 years in the future. Tendai, 13, his sister Rita, and their little brother Kuda escape their luxurious home to explore their perilous city; Tendai's immediate aim is earning a scouting badge, but his need to prove himself -- as his protective father, Chief of Security Masika, hasn't allowed him to do -- is also compelling. Exploring seamy "Cow's Guts," these innocents are snapped up by the vast "She Elephant" who presides over the mines in Dead Man's Vlei, where society's dregs scavenge toxic waste for now-rare plastics. Escaping, they find their way to the walled enclave of Resthaven, where traditional tribal ways are preserved, bad with good ("You can't yank out part of the pattern and not damage the rest"); and then to a treacherous old Englishwoman. Meanwhile, the three are tracked by three eponymous detectives, whose folkloric talents are ascribed to the effects of a toxic environment. Weaving African tribal language and lore (notes and glossary appended) into a rich tapestry featuring a witty projection of the future, a score of vividly realized characters, and a nonstop adventure culminating in a denouement that's at once taut, comic, and touching, Farmer has created a splendidly imaginative fantasy, just right to pair with Lowry's darker vision of control and freedom (The Giver, 1993). 1994, Orchard, $17.95; PLB $17.99. Starred Review. © 1994 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.Won:John Newbery Medal Honor Book,
Parent's Choice Award

won - Hal Clement Award for Young Adults Winner The Golden Kite Award Honor Book
John Newbery Medal Honor Book 1995

An adventure novel set in 22nd-century Zimbabwe, The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm is rather unique among juvenile fiction novels. Along with a fast-paces plot, first-class world-building, and intriguing characters, Nancy Farmer manages to include a surprising amount of Zimbabwean cultural background. A must-read. ( )

Nancy Farmer is very cool. All of her books are completely different, but I love them all. This is a wonderful coming of age story set in Zimbabwe in the near future. It reads very much like a traditional folk tale or fairy tale. Enjoyable and thoughtful. ( )

alternate reality, young adult