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The Rwendigo Tales #1
A Chameleon, a Boy, and a Quest
A Chameleon, a Boy, and a Quest is the first book in the fictional series, The Rwendigo Tales. This adventure story is designed for eight-to fourteen-year-old youth and is written for children and teens who love reading and learning about faraway and different parts of the world, while relating to characters and issues that seem much closer to home.
Ten-year-old Mu, orphaned as a toddler, has lived his entire life in the heart of Africa. For as long as he can remember, he has served in the household of a great-uncle where he is unloved and ignored. In his drudgery-filled life, Mu has little hope of happiness and little hope that anything will ever change. But one day everything does change.
On his way to draw water one morning, Mu is astonished when a chameleon greets him by name and announces that they will embark on a quest together. And what a quest it turns out to be! Mu faces danger and finds unexpected allies as they journey through an ever changing landscape.
Through his adventure, Mu learns many things about himself. Along with Mu, you will walk through Africa, encountering good and evil. Read carefully and you just may find out who you are too.
For 8-14 year olds
Ten-year-old Mu, orphaned as a toddler, has lived his entire life in the heart of Africa. For as long as he can remember, he has served in the household of a great-uncle where he is unloved and ignored. In his drudgery-filled life, Mu has little hope of happiness and little hope that anything will ever change. But one day everything does change.
On his way to draw water one morning, Mu is astonished when a chameleon greets him by name and announces that they will embark on a quest together. And what a quest it turns out to be! Mu faces danger and finds unexpected allies as they journey through an ever changing landscape.
Through his adventure, Mu learns many things about himself. Along with Mu, you will walk through Africa, encountering good and evil. Read carefully and you just may find out who you are too.
For 8-14 year olds
128 pages, Paperback
First published October 6, 2015
12 people are currently reading
326 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews
October 22, 2015
OK this is my own book, but I do like it!
October 4, 2018
"What is a quest without a destination?"
Travel the trail of adventure with a ten year old boy, Mu and his highly unusual companion, Tita; a chameleon, as they traverse the diverse African terrain through-out Rwendigo to fulfill a yet-to-be- determined quest.
A perfect read-aloud for emerging readers or a pleasant challenge for independent readers. In the author's own words; the tale "blends magical realism, page-turning action, and subtle gospel themes".
I would wholeheartedly agree!
Travel the trail of adventure with a ten year old boy, Mu and his highly unusual companion, Tita; a chameleon, as they traverse the diverse African terrain through-out Rwendigo to fulfill a yet-to-be- determined quest.
A perfect read-aloud for emerging readers or a pleasant challenge for independent readers. In the author's own words; the tale "blends magical realism, page-turning action, and subtle gospel themes".
I would wholeheartedly agree!
October 26, 2015
About the Book:
The Adventure of a Lifetime
Ten-year-old Mu, orphaned as a toddler, has lived his entire life in the heart of Africa. For as long as he can remember, he has served in the household of a great-uncle where he is unloved and ignored. In his drudgery-filled life, Mu has little hope of happiness and little hope that anything will ever change. But one day everything does change. On his way to draw water one morning, Mu is astonished when a chameleon greets him by name and announces that they will embark on a quest together. And what a quest it turns out to be! Mu faces danger and finds unexpected allies as they journey through an ever changing landscape. Through his adventure, Mu learns many things about himself. Along with Mu, you will walk through Africa, encountering good and evil. Read carefully and you just may find out who you are too.
My Review:
A sweet story very similar to Cinderella. 10 year old Mu, is an orphan being raised by his great uncle. He feels that his life would always consist of the people there and the treatment that they dish out on a daily basis.
This book is a little over 100 pages and I gave it to me tween boys to read. They are enjoying it. As you read you are transported on Mu's journey right along with him. He is from Africa and the writing is so appealing that you feel that you are there and experiencing this with him.
With threads of all things Godlike the author manages to get goodness into your children's hearts that show them how life is transformed for this young boy and how he can change yours too!
**Disclosure** This book was sent to me free of charge for my honest review from Litfuse.
The Adventure of a Lifetime
Ten-year-old Mu, orphaned as a toddler, has lived his entire life in the heart of Africa. For as long as he can remember, he has served in the household of a great-uncle where he is unloved and ignored. In his drudgery-filled life, Mu has little hope of happiness and little hope that anything will ever change. But one day everything does change. On his way to draw water one morning, Mu is astonished when a chameleon greets him by name and announces that they will embark on a quest together. And what a quest it turns out to be! Mu faces danger and finds unexpected allies as they journey through an ever changing landscape. Through his adventure, Mu learns many things about himself. Along with Mu, you will walk through Africa, encountering good and evil. Read carefully and you just may find out who you are too.
My Review:
A sweet story very similar to Cinderella. 10 year old Mu, is an orphan being raised by his great uncle. He feels that his life would always consist of the people there and the treatment that they dish out on a daily basis.
This book is a little over 100 pages and I gave it to me tween boys to read. They are enjoying it. As you read you are transported on Mu's journey right along with him. He is from Africa and the writing is so appealing that you feel that you are there and experiencing this with him.
With threads of all things Godlike the author manages to get goodness into your children's hearts that show them how life is transformed for this young boy and how he can change yours too!
**Disclosure** This book was sent to me free of charge for my honest review from Litfuse.
January 1, 2021
A great adventure for both youth and adults!
June 29, 2024
My boys loved this series. It was a family read aloud.
February 8, 2025
Book club May 2024. Fun book. Good for children
October 11, 2025
Finally finished this one. It started as a summer book club read with my children that was interrupted by Jubilee's birth.
I didn't enjoy it very much until the last few chapters, which turned the whole book around for me. However, the promises of the beginning didn't seem to match the conclusion. I would give it 5 stars for gospel allusions and message, but I would only give it 3 stars for the overall story.
That being said, as soon as we finished it, my oldest son declared we had to get the next one.
I didn't enjoy it very much until the last few chapters, which turned the whole book around for me. However, the promises of the beginning didn't seem to match the conclusion. I would give it 5 stars for gospel allusions and message, but I would only give it 3 stars for the overall story.
That being said, as soon as we finished it, my oldest son declared we had to get the next one.
Read
October 12, 2025gonna hold off on a rating until I can get my kid’s input on this one - I highly enjoyed prereading it, though!
June 27, 2019
The kids and I enjoyed this book. I read it aloud to them. It’s very well written; takes place in Africa, which was very interesting. The overall themes on the book are of good vs evil, redemption, forgiveness and hope. We loved the main character, Mu, and his chameleon guide. There are some tragic parts, one in particular that was difficult for my youngest, so I might recommend for 10-12 yr olds. But I also enjoyed it very much.
July 31, 2020
The setting of this series, the depth of detail and love, and the way it brought my vague sense of this bit of Africa into focus as a home like mine, is so compelling, that I would have finished all three books no matter what. I like the light animal fantasy, and the hidden-refuge premise, though, as fantasy plot devices. Plus the characters were unignoreable from page two. The writing starts out a smidge amateur-ish, the plot development too, but the story itself is thoroughly enjoyable the whole time, so read these anyway.
December 9, 2023
I highly recommend these if you’re looking for a series set in Africa for older kids, written by someone who lived there for many years. The four books are a fantastic window into Africa with beautiful gospel themes. Age range probably 8th grade and up, depending on maturity. Exercise caution for sensitive readers.
The author serves as a doctor with Serge in East Africa (she’s been there 20+ years). She wrote these books as Christmas presents for her four children so they could have stories set in their world.
In the stories, a few animals talk and act as “Messengers”, but there’s no magic. There are references to the Creator, but no actual mention of Jesus. There are forces of evil who serve Abaddon, and some references to evil spirits or wanting to consult with ancestors which fits the Africa narrative.
Some of the content is pretty heavy, but that content is inspired by real-life experiences in African villages where there is poverty, limited healthcare, and rebel activity. She doesn’t shy away from including some horrible things that happened in her area, but it isn’t glorified and evil is portrayed as evil.
—
I’ll share some heavy things I remember below (including SPOILERS), but this isn’t an exhaustive list. There are also orphans (parents lost to violence or disease), and a few characters drink alcohol / you know they get drunk (but that is not a predominant theme).
Book 1 - A Chameleon, a Boy, and a Quest
The main character is captured by soldiers and essentially becomes a child soldier for a bit (mostly wandering around with them - he’s not in any battles).
There’s one super sad section where the main character chooses to shoot a dog who has been helping guard him, but there is a beautiful redemption chapter afterward.
Book 2 - A Bird, a Girl, and a Rescue
Rebels trap girls and their teachers in a school and set it on fire, but everyone escapes safely.
A couple of girls are captured by rebels elsewhere, but they escape.
Book 3 - A Forest, a Flood, and an Unlikely Star
The main character boy finds out the story of his parents along the way: His mom married a man when she ran out of money to finish school. She was his 2nd wife, but he paid for her to finish school and she was educated and a wonderful mother. I didn’t see any references to abuse, but it is noted that the 1st wife didn’t like her.
The boy’s mom died from AIDS and his sister has AIDS. His grandfather died in a rebel raid. The deaths happened before the book begins, so it’s not super emotional. They don’t have great access to healthcare or medicine.
The end is good with some reconciliation / forgiveness / healing in more ways than physical.
Book 4 - A Fever, a Flight, and a Fight for the World
There have been outbreaks of some kind of fever disease. Lots of people died, including a main character child’s family. Toward the end you find out the government is covering up the outbreaks, and that they are trying to weaponize the disease (until a couple of people have changes of heart).
—
I’ll end with one of the beautiful allegorical sections from Book 1 (Mu is the boy and Botu is the dog):
“Botu forgave the boy even as he was betraying the dog to the death. Botu understood the predicament, the emotions, the confusion in the boy’s heart. Botu understood Mu’s petty, mean, shameful, self-centered, cowardly decision. And Botu loved him anyway.
Time seemed suspended in that moment of his failure, and of Botu’s glory. Then suddenly Mu was on the ground, curled on his side, crying.
[…] ‘You’re crying like a baby, stand up and be a man!’
[…] So Mu stood up. And he was a bit closer to manhood. Not because he had killed, not because he had stopped crying. He knew at that moment he had reached the bottom. He had chosen acceptance from the group over courage, the attention of killers over the faithfulness of a friend. He had come to the moment of truth about himself, and the truth was not beautiful. But in the very act of committing the worst deed of his life, he also saw something deeper than that truth about his own soul. He saw forgiveness, forgiveness given freely when he least deserved it. That look from Botu penetrated his soul, deeper than truth, deeper than guilt. So he stood as an emerging man, determined to return to his quest and leave these men at the first opportunity.”
The author serves as a doctor with Serge in East Africa (she’s been there 20+ years). She wrote these books as Christmas presents for her four children so they could have stories set in their world.
In the stories, a few animals talk and act as “Messengers”, but there’s no magic. There are references to the Creator, but no actual mention of Jesus. There are forces of evil who serve Abaddon, and some references to evil spirits or wanting to consult with ancestors which fits the Africa narrative.
Some of the content is pretty heavy, but that content is inspired by real-life experiences in African villages where there is poverty, limited healthcare, and rebel activity. She doesn’t shy away from including some horrible things that happened in her area, but it isn’t glorified and evil is portrayed as evil.
—
I’ll share some heavy things I remember below (including SPOILERS), but this isn’t an exhaustive list. There are also orphans (parents lost to violence or disease), and a few characters drink alcohol / you know they get drunk (but that is not a predominant theme).
Book 1 - A Chameleon, a Boy, and a Quest
The main character is captured by soldiers and essentially becomes a child soldier for a bit (mostly wandering around with them - he’s not in any battles).
There’s one super sad section where the main character chooses to shoot a dog who has been helping guard him, but there is a beautiful redemption chapter afterward.
Book 2 - A Bird, a Girl, and a Rescue
Rebels trap girls and their teachers in a school and set it on fire, but everyone escapes safely.
A couple of girls are captured by rebels elsewhere, but they escape.
Book 3 - A Forest, a Flood, and an Unlikely Star
The main character boy finds out the story of his parents along the way: His mom married a man when she ran out of money to finish school. She was his 2nd wife, but he paid for her to finish school and she was educated and a wonderful mother. I didn’t see any references to abuse, but it is noted that the 1st wife didn’t like her.
The boy’s mom died from AIDS and his sister has AIDS. His grandfather died in a rebel raid. The deaths happened before the book begins, so it’s not super emotional. They don’t have great access to healthcare or medicine.
The end is good with some reconciliation / forgiveness / healing in more ways than physical.
Book 4 - A Fever, a Flight, and a Fight for the World
There have been outbreaks of some kind of fever disease. Lots of people died, including a main character child’s family. Toward the end you find out the government is covering up the outbreaks, and that they are trying to weaponize the disease (until a couple of people have changes of heart).
—
I’ll end with one of the beautiful allegorical sections from Book 1 (Mu is the boy and Botu is the dog):
“Botu forgave the boy even as he was betraying the dog to the death. Botu understood the predicament, the emotions, the confusion in the boy’s heart. Botu understood Mu’s petty, mean, shameful, self-centered, cowardly decision. And Botu loved him anyway.
Time seemed suspended in that moment of his failure, and of Botu’s glory. Then suddenly Mu was on the ground, curled on his side, crying.
[…] ‘You’re crying like a baby, stand up and be a man!’
[…] So Mu stood up. And he was a bit closer to manhood. Not because he had killed, not because he had stopped crying. He knew at that moment he had reached the bottom. He had chosen acceptance from the group over courage, the attention of killers over the faithfulness of a friend. He had come to the moment of truth about himself, and the truth was not beautiful. But in the very act of committing the worst deed of his life, he also saw something deeper than that truth about his own soul. He saw forgiveness, forgiveness given freely when he least deserved it. That look from Botu penetrated his soul, deeper than truth, deeper than guilt. So he stood as an emerging man, determined to return to his quest and leave these men at the first opportunity.”
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 27, 2015
The author states that she wrote this wonderful story for her four children as a Christmas gift, and what a wonderful gift this was. Written from her heart and savored over the Christmas week.
Written so children can understand and enjoy with the talking creatures, they are drawn into this of Good vs. Evil, and how easy and innocently one can be drawn to the evil side.
The chameleon is such a wonderful creature, and who wouldn’t want to have one of their own? Tita as he is called by Mu, our little mistreated orphaned boy, who sure could use this fellow in his young life, and loved how he found him on the poinsettia plant
Since loosing his parents he has been living as a slave for his Uncle’s family, he finds Tita, and is offered a wonderful quest. Things are not always as they appear and things and perceptions changed in the blink of an eye. There is the vicious dog that ends up saving Mu’s life, and in the end he ends up saving his soul.
Once you start this story your children are not going to want you to stop, and your not going to want to either.
I received this book through Litfust Publicity Books Tours and was not required to give a positive review.
Written so children can understand and enjoy with the talking creatures, they are drawn into this of Good vs. Evil, and how easy and innocently one can be drawn to the evil side.
The chameleon is such a wonderful creature, and who wouldn’t want to have one of their own? Tita as he is called by Mu, our little mistreated orphaned boy, who sure could use this fellow in his young life, and loved how he found him on the poinsettia plant
Since loosing his parents he has been living as a slave for his Uncle’s family, he finds Tita, and is offered a wonderful quest. Things are not always as they appear and things and perceptions changed in the blink of an eye. There is the vicious dog that ends up saving Mu’s life, and in the end he ends up saving his soul.
Once you start this story your children are not going to want you to stop, and your not going to want to either.
I received this book through Litfust Publicity Books Tours and was not required to give a positive review.
September 8, 2020
I read this book to my 9 year old son and it was pretty good. I was expecting it to be a bit more moving and magical though, since it was compared to the Chronicles of Narnia. He enjoyed it pretty well but I found that a lot of the sentences were long and many of the vocabulary was above him. I think it was neat that it was written by a mom who told these stories to her children. And it was great to read a story set in Africa.
June 6, 2017
I enjoyed this story. The African imagery was lovely and so was the story.
I will share for those with very sensitive readers, there is a very sad and hard part to read in the story.
I will share for those with very sensitive readers, there is a very sad and hard part to read in the story.
May 14, 2025
This was actually a really enjoyable read. It wasn’t how it was described to me (as tales of a missionary doctor). It felt like a mix between an African legend, historical fiction, and nature lore.
April 3, 2016
Sweet story.
December 22, 2018
After just a few pages I was gripped by Myhre’s characters and unusual adventure story, and I read eagerly to the end. This well-written and tightly constructed tale brings us inside life in exotic Eastern Africa. More impressively it brings to life the complex nature of good and evil as forces to reckon with. This is a great book to read and discuss with a group. Like the best literature for young people, Myhre’s writing works well also for adults. I turned the last page of the book with a bittersweet feeling that’s all too rare: a gladness that I’d gotten to know these characters and a sadness that our time together had already come to an end.
February 10, 2019
So happy to have found a new series for my kiddos. This was our latest read-aloud. We love finding stories that take place in other countries and cultures. There are some very serious themes (serious disease, death, murder, guns) in this book - and one scene that could be upsetting to younger children.
July 24, 2021
This story was originally written by the author for her children as she served as a physician in East Africa. I am far from my childhood years but loved this tale of Mu and his quest. It tells the story of friendship, good vs evil, and forgiveness. The beautiful descriptions of the land could only have been written by someone living in this unique environment.
February 25, 2025
I listened to the audio book with my daughters ages 4-12. It took them a little bit to be interested but there were parts where they were on the edge of their seat and gasping. I loved some of the underlying gospel messages we took away from it. Overall I think it was a cute book, I think it would have better not as an audiobook.
November 7, 2017
A beautiful story of adventure. As one living in Africa, I could clearly envision each animal and place the author described. I so look forward to sharing his with my daughter. She will love the descriptions of life so familiar to her.
December 18, 2018
Very good story. So far I love the stories in these tales. I have read the first two so far and can't wait to read more. The story focuses on a boy who found a chamelion. The story has the boy go on a quest that has a few sad turns but ends on a light note.
April 18, 2025
This series has been SO good! Interesting, well-written, adventurous. I would suggest parents read ahead with this one; a morally intense scene ends well and is talked about so well and carefully, but I think some kids would find it too hard to handle.
Want to read
September 12, 2019Recommended as a read aloud by Brandy Vencel...krb 8/19
December 20, 2019
Jennifer Myhre wrote these books for her children, and they are great!
May 19, 2020
Well written, sweet but powerful story. The middle of the book was slow, but it is worth it to keep reading. I highly recommend for kids and families.
June 6, 2022
Short, engaging story. I think this would make a great read-aloud! I’ll definitely be reading the other books in the series.
Want to read
July 13, 2023Christian Fiction
July 29, 2023
This a small but powerful book. I can’t wait to read the next one!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews