Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Comments and Reviews

"I read your book to my kids during our car trip. They are 2 and 5. Their grandmother is from Madagascar and their grandfather, Senegalese. Their other grandparents are Greek, Italian, and Finnish. Your book is about them. It is about all of us, all the forces in the Universe that can bless each other or harm each other. Your book will help turn the table!"
~Carole Patrikakos, Books for Africa


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"Some months ago my god daughter’s father looked at me with a serious and puzzled look on his face. I asked him what was on his mind as his baby daughter walked passed us in the room so innocent and preciously. He said, 'How I am going to tell her about prejudice and racism?' At the time I felt I had an answer and said 'We will take it step by step and deal with each issue at a time.' That was my best University trained answer; after all, I thought, I am an anthropologist. I felt at the time that this was the right thing to say; but, now I know better. I needed a beautiful and well constructed tool to prepare her for the world she inherited from us. Memories of the Little Elephant is just that. Nehprii Amenii has given the world a story told in the voice of a child that covers world history from our prehistoric past to the dawn of our day. Nehprii Amenii as taken the “monogenetic theory of human evolution” and weaved it with love and care to explain the phenotypic changes we see in modern human beings. Amenii has transmitted a story that needed to be told in a most loving and serious manner. It is obvious that everyone will not love this book this should be expected for many years Africans and Africans of the Diaspora have had the challenge of explaining the Miafa to our young. I can only say this is only one of our stories and is not crafted to separate but to unify our great world wide family. Thank you Nehprii, now Uncle Robert does not have to sound like a college professor when he explains our story to the watoto in our village.

~Robert L. Belcher Professor of Anthropology
Atlanta Metropolitan College
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