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The Lion Children

by Angus McNeice

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614426,627 (4.14)8
Emily (16), Travers (10), Angus (9), Maisie (7) and Oakley (1) lived in an idyllic 300-year-old cottage in the Cotswolds. They attended the local school, watched telly and did all the things English middle-class children do. Then, in 1995, their mother, a biologist, seized the opportunity to study lions in Botswana and, in the space of 3 months, changed the family's lives forever. Within 24 hours of landing in Gaborone they were travelling to their new home at Maun in the Okavango Delta, one of the most beautiful wildernesses on earth. Just weeks after arriving, the children had made home in an old mission house full of stray dogs. Then there were the little things to attend to like getting fresh water, buying food, digging a toilet and finding out what creepy crawlies would kill you and which would not. Their classroom was an open hut and their back garden the Okavango Delta. Their free days were spent in a Land Rover tracking prides of lions across hundreds of miles of bush. The Lion Children is an extraordinary life-enhancing story about the joy of childhood and living in an environment as different as it can be.… (more)
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English (3)  Dutch (1)  All languages (4)
Showing 3 of 3
The Lion Children. A wonderful, wonderful, wonderful read. ( )
  Novak | Jun 9, 2020 |
Botswana Wild Life
  oirm42 | May 23, 2018 |
I have to say, this is perhaps one of the most charming books I've ever had the privilege of reading. Sadly it doesn't seem to have made much of a splash, and having never heard of it before, I picked it up on a whim in a remaindered bookstore. Consider this my contribution to spreading the word!

This is a travel memoir, and an autobiography, and an exploration of how it feels to move to a new country to start a new life... but with a twist. This time it's written by the children! The three middle McNeice children, Angus, Travers and Maisie, wrote the book, with occasional contributions by their big sister Emily, their stepsister Philippa, and their endearing little brother Oakley (who is the definitive little monkey!).

The family moved to Botswana when Kate, their mother, developed a passion for evolutionary science. Where better to see it in action than in the African bush? There she met a lion researcher, Pieter, fell in love, and the whole family joined his research project. Taking it in turns to write a piece on each aspect of African life, the children cover everything from roller hockey in Maun and home schooling in camp, to getting lost in the wilderness and the perils of malaria. There are moving sections on trophy hunting and the threat of HIV in Africa, but likewise there are joyful pieces about unforgettable birthday celebrations and adventures with new friends.

These children come across as eloquent, intelligent and affectionate, and is evident how much they have learned from their experiences and how sincere they are in their wish to contribute to the lion conservation efforts in Botswana. I'll definitely be recommending their book to all and sundry, and keeping my copy firmly on my shelves - and if ever I need a guide through the African bush, there's no one I'd rather be out there with than these kids! ( )
5 vote elliepotten | Jul 22, 2010 |
Showing 3 of 3
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Emily (16), Travers (10), Angus (9), Maisie (7) and Oakley (1) lived in an idyllic 300-year-old cottage in the Cotswolds. They attended the local school, watched telly and did all the things English middle-class children do. Then, in 1995, their mother, a biologist, seized the opportunity to study lions in Botswana and, in the space of 3 months, changed the family's lives forever. Within 24 hours of landing in Gaborone they were travelling to their new home at Maun in the Okavango Delta, one of the most beautiful wildernesses on earth. Just weeks after arriving, the children had made home in an old mission house full of stray dogs. Then there were the little things to attend to like getting fresh water, buying food, digging a toilet and finding out what creepy crawlies would kill you and which would not. Their classroom was an open hut and their back garden the Okavango Delta. Their free days were spent in a Land Rover tracking prides of lions across hundreds of miles of bush. The Lion Children is an extraordinary life-enhancing story about the joy of childhood and living in an environment as different as it can be.

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