Kate’s 2¢: “Wild life: dispatches from a childhood of baboons and button-downs” by Keena Roberts

“Wild life: dispatches from a childhood of baboons and button-downs” by Keena Roberts

Kate’s 2¢: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as,     describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ merely shares my thoughts about what I read.  I’m just saying…

In the prologue, it was unfortunate that the little girl’s second grade teacher wasn’t more proactive in helping her student acclimate to life in the States. When I taught Third Grade, a girl moved in during the middle of the year. All she could talk about was her old school and friends. Her current classmates were tired of hearing about how much better her old school was and rejecting her.  I privately talked with her and shared my experience of moving many times with my family while in grade school. When my mini-lecture ended, I asked her if she’d like to erase the chalkboard. Then, I went over to one of my gregarious girls and privately asked her to go erase the chalkboard, too.  Then, I told them in a normal voice that I could still see the ‘ghost writing’ on the chalkboard. They looked at each other, started to giggle, and as they rubbed harder, their little fannies wiggled and waggled, causing the whole class to laugh with them. It broke the ice and the new girl was accepted.  It wouldn’t have taken much for Keena’s teacher to facilitate a smoother transition for her.

Once I got over my peek at Roberts’ second grade teacher, I settled into enjoy Keena’s wonder and curiosity of the African flora and fauna. Her perceptions are  mature for a young child, or has it been enhanced with hind-sight?

Roberts’ writing style flows with humor, insight, and the thrill of daring adventures, both real and imagined. It is witty and complex, just like her mother had her practice writing college application essays. I like the way Roberts often compares the snarky, private school students behaviors to the wild animals she knew from Baboon Camp, her parents’   research camp in Botswana.

Chloe Cannon  did an excellent job of narrating the NLS version I listened to. She emoted enough for each character  to be identified, but, not so much as to detract from the flow of the story.

From her website:

Keena Roberts is the author of Wild Life: Dispatches From a Childhood of Baboons and Button-Downs, a memoir about growing up in a research camp in Botswana and the transition back to the life of an American high school student in a wealthy suburb of Philadelphia.

A born adventurer, Keena is drawn to stories featuring strong female protagonists and survival in incredible worlds full of danger, animals, and natural beauty. Her current work in progress is an epic fantasy novel, also set in the Okavango Delta, featuring baboon protagonists based on actual monkeys from the troop she grew up observing with her parents.

The daughter of two prominent primatologists, she is a graduate of Harvard University and holds two Masters degrees from Johns Hopkins University in international development as well as global disease epidemiology and control. She has worked in the world of global health for more than ten years, mostly in the field of HIV/AIDS, and credits her time in Botswana for developing her interest in this field.

From NLS/BARD/LOC”

Wild life: dispatches from a childhood of baboons and button-downs DB98131

Roberts, Keena. Reading time: 9 hours, 44 minutes.

Read by Chloe Cannon.

Biography

U.S. History

The author describes her experiences growing up while splitting her time between an island camp in Botswana with her primatologist parents and an elite private school in the United States. Reflects on the challenges faced in both settings. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2019.