Walk the World's Rim

by Betty Baker

A 14-year old Indian joins Cabeza de Vaca's 16th-century expedition through the Southwest. A vivid portrait of Mexican life and the harsh conditions of a primitive Indian tribe.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, School, American History, Childrens, Middle Grade, Historical

170 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1965

Reviews

[booklady · Rating 4 out of 5]

Couldn't sleep last night so I read this straight through. Combines known history of the survivors of disastrous 1527 expedition from Cuba to explore Florida and find wealth. Of over 600 men only 4 survived, including Cabeza de Vaca, two others and a black slave, Esteban. This YA novel is from the perspective of Chakoh, a young boy, from the Avavare tribe who befriended the Spaniards for the sake of their 'medicine'. Chakoh decides to accompany back to Mexico, the 'land of plenty' to escape his starving village. The tension throughout revolves around the issue of slavery which the young Chakoh has been taught to believe is dishonorable. Better to die than to submit to its yoke under any circumstances.

Interesting perspective story as race is never the issue here. The Indian Chakoh is friends with Esteban from the beginning. It is only when Esteban's status as a slave is revealed, their friendship undergoes a transition and Chakoh finds his comfortable mores challenged. Another reason young people need to read books from/about different cultures/eras.

[Cindy Rollins · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read this aloud twice and I am still not sure what I think. In some ways, it is very well written and does give you a feel for the time and the place, the defeat of the Aztecs in Mexico and the Indian tribes of the Southwest. But in other ways, it is difficult to read.

[Mary Herceg · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had to read this for history and literature in seventh grade, and I hated it then and suffered through it. As a result, I won't be picking it up ever again - which might be sad, but I don't care, even if there's a chance I'd appreciate it more as an adult. I'm not usually so opinionated about negative reviews, but I am with a few, and this is one of them.

I disliked the book so much I blocked most of it from my memory, but I do remember a few things. It was very boring and very strange, and that's all that matters in my memory. I don't think I disliked the two main characters, but I don't even remember - I must've been indifferent or not liked them enough to redeem the book in my eyes.

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book touches on the actual failed Narvaez expedition, which made Cabeza de Vaca one of four survivors, and later famous for his accounts of it. The book then leads us into the search of the seven fabled cities of Cibola. This story is rich in history, culture of the native American tribes encountered by the group, and in moral lessons.

The main characters are an Indian boy, which the Spanish met when they made his village a stopping point and Esteban the black slave of one of the Spanish explorers. This book was a great learning tool for my kids. It provided for some great discussions about what greed can do to people, about being judgmental, and of the injustices of slavery. Most importantly however, we discussed how we should treat people if we are truly interested in spreading the word of God. My daughter and I both wondered how many natives were and still are to this day ultimately turned off by Christianity, due to the many injustices suffered by them at the hands of those bringing Christianity to them? The ending of this book was rather sad too, but again a great lesson in keeping one's honor until the end regardless of the consequences. Great book, for sure!

[Brok3n · Rating 4 out of 5]

Freedom, honor, and slavery

In 1527, five ships set sail from Cuba to explore Florida. "Florida" vaguely referred to essentially everything north of Mexico. Spain laid claim to all of it. Of the 600 men and women aboard, only four survived: Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, Andrés Dorantes de Carranza, Alonso del Castillo Maldonado, and an African slave of Dorantes', Esteban. For seven years they were held prisoner by Gulf Coast Native Americans. They made themselves valuable by curing sick people through prayer. After seven years they escaped and fled into the interior of what is now Texas, where they found a home for a while with a group of friendly "Avavare" people -- aside from the writings of Cabeza de Vaca, the name Avavare is now unknown. Eventually leaving the Avavare, they journeyed northwest, and then eventually south to Mexico.

Walk the World's Rim by children's author Betty Baker is an account of that journey. It is told from the point of view of Chakoh, a 14-year-old Avavare boy, and is centered on his relationship with Esteban. For all its brevity -- I read the whole in about two hours -- it is surprisingly complex.

Chakoh, who doesn't understand the relationships among the four men, admires the big dark man Esteban and considers him a friend. Esteban is strong and clever -- without him the party of four would have been lost. When the four depart for Mexico, Chakoh, lured by Esteban's stories of the riches of Mexico, joins them.

Chakoh holds slaves in contempt. In his world slaves are defeated warriors -- people who surrendered their freedom and their honor in exchange for their lives, rather than dying in battle. When he learns that Esteban is a slave, he doesn't know how to think about him.

Unlike so many stories about explorers and natives, this one doesn't transplant modern minds into people who lived 500 years ago. You never feel that Chakoh or Esteban is exactly like the people you are surrounded by in your daily life. Yet, while not exactly like, they are like -- they are human and believable.

Blog review.

[Tiff Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing fictional telling centered on Esteban, the slave belonging to Dorantes--one of just a few who survived the journey from Cuba to Florida with Cabeza de Vaca. I can't recommend it enough. This book does not glorify the Spanish settlers, neither does it glorify Native American culture. It is altogether down-to-earth, believable, and tugs at the heartstrings. It required my children to think through complex issues like slavery, pre-conceived ideas, how we judge one another, religion, honor, and keeping one's word.

Excellent book.

The ending made us all cry.

[Margaret Chind · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally posted on Creative Madness Mama. It has been long in coming that we are getting back on track both in reading full books aloud as a family and as a history curriculum meant for my elder children. We are reading Walk the World's Rim as recommended by BookShark Level 3 Introduction to American Studies part 1 (similar lines as Sonlight D). It seemingly took forever for us to finish as pregnancy, illness, camping, and life events took hiatus here and there. Yet, tonight in December of 2019, we pulled the bookmark from the pages for the last time as we continued on through the last three and half chapters.

My children (10, 8, 5, 2, NB 1 month) were met with a Cuban "dark one" slave, an Indian of Native American tradition boy, Spaniard Explorers, Mexican established monks and priests. They heard adventures of turmoil and travel as the group made way from one village to another with a constant destination in goal. Many different aspects of cultures were introduced and discussed. And many seeds of thought were planted.

We own a paperback Sonlight published copy of this book.
This review was originally posted on Creative Madness Mama.

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three Spaniards from a failed expedition are traveling with one other man called Esteban, but known as the Dark One. They are the only survivors out of 600 men. Their travel has been nothing but hardship. As they come to Chakoh's village, they find another companion in their travel to Mexico.
Chakoh looks up to Esteban, but has a lot to learn about life, friendship, and sometimes about things he thinks he already knows.

[Christina Dent · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this aloud to my 8 and 10 year old boys, and we loved it. Great story while also delving into honor and shame, African slavery and Native American slavery. Based on a true story. Wonderfully brought deep themes to a child's level. We all loved it.

[Felisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did this as a read aloud for my 9 year old daughter. It was a wonderful read. While it was a bit slow to start, it was thought provoking and had a lot of good historical information.

[Caleb M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 ⭐ (I Didn't NOT Like It)

Ended up reading this one with the kiddos for a school project. Pretty interesting read that's based on a true story.

There are so many humans on this planet, especially when you start thinking through time, and each and everyone has a story that could be told that is interesting.

This, to me, feels like one such story. 14 year old leaves his tribe to go travel to the plentiful land of Mexico. He meets people along the way but has a special connections with a slave named Estéban. This story is about that journey.

Short and sweet and also a little tragic, this is the story of that journey.

I had a lot more fun with this than I thought I was going to. But still felt like there could be more room for character growth and bigger connections with other people.

Hard to recommend, but also a quick easy read. So if the subject matter interests you, might be worth trying, less than 2 hours to read.

[Melissa Greene · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read to my 10 year old son as part of the Sonlight Core D read alouds. Overall time period and story was good, but I did have a hard time following the author's writing over time. It felt choppy in places and there was no transition from one time frame to the next. I did do further research of Cabeza de Vaca and other Spanish Conquistadors in order to try to understand the story better, which helped.

Walk the World's Rim is a decent read on the subject of early 1500's American Exploration, but could have flowed better. I recommend reading it with your student along with supplemental material to aid in understanding.

[Laura (Book Scrounger) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

As a read-aloud, this was mostly okay -- the pacing is slow at times and Chakoh's thoughts a bit convoluted, but I liked the fictionalized portrayal of Esteban (and my son did too), as well as the friendship between him and Chakoh, and the ending was sad enough to make me tear up.

[Emma Whear · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every time I visit a thrift store, I try to scan the book section for paperbacks that look exciting.
The cover of this one caught my eye, as did the text inlay inside.

Side note, the publisher of this one made some real big oops. 7 or 8 punctuational errors, mostly missed periods. :|

However, this was a winner, for a thrift store paperback. Educational, fast-paced, thought-provoking. Would give to my kids to generate discussion about superstition/primitivism/conquistadors.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would likely never pick this book up to read on my own, but it was in my daughter’s curriculum this year for school, and we read it together. I love that it led to some deep discussions on slavery and I could see the wheels turning in her little 9-year-old head.

[=☆Silver-Lining☆= (Huge Reading Slump) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was kind of sad but I really liked it! I really liked Estaban because he was wise!

[Clearhunter · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book, but it had a very sad ending. The characters were good. Esteban was funny, and I liked him.

[Tiffany Wilkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first half was super slow but the friendship between Esteban and Chakoh was incredibly touching.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

With our American historical fiction books, I'm not as eager to read everything our homeschool curriculum recommends. (My love is for British Lit and that is how it will stay.) So I vet every recommended read before we tackle it. After reading reviews for this one, I decided that my girls probably wouldn't love it as the "fun snack-time read-aloud" I had it planned for, but it had enough accurate historical details and real historical people that I decided it would be good as our history book (being sure to remind them regularly that it was fiction based on the real journey of Cabeza de Vaca and crew). This re-branding was what I personally consider one of my greatest teaching decisions of this semester, because instead of making fun read-aloud time "boring," it elevated history read-aloud time to "fun." And I am really glad we read it.

It was a book that required discussion. Based on his culture, main character Chakoh thinks all slaves are cowards taken in battle. Befriending Esteban, the slave who accompanies Cabeza de Vaca et al through their wilderness journey, challenges all his dearly-held preconceptions, and he learns that he is resistant to the point of fear about changing his mind, even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Chakoh goes with the de Vaca explorers so that he can learn about the Christian God and return to tell his family about the power this God surely has access to, but the Spanish missionaries he meets, though sympathetically portrayed, aren't as interested in the Gospel as one would hope missionaries would be. They teach Chakoh about God, but in such a way that Chakoh learns rituals, not love and heart change, and thinks about God as just another good option in a pantheon of spirits competing for power. Obviously there were a lot of deep, complex, and even difficult (f0r our grade level, which is 2nd and 3rd) ideas for us to discuss, and I was glad the book brought them up in the ways that it did.

Finally, since we're into American history now, I know we're going to encounter slavery many times, and I am SO GLAD Esteban is the first slave my kids encountered in literature. We first meet him while de Vaca's expedition is wandering in the wilderness, so Chakoh knows him as a man long before he learns Esteban is a slave. And he is a great man. He's honorable, quick-thinking, funny, complicated, friendly, heroic--a strong role model. Chakoh respects and trusts him, and so do we--and it's therefore justly a shock to our hearts when the expedition reaches Mexico and all the social distinctions pop right back up again. The unjust indignities of slavery, along with the fact that we are talking about people before we are talking about an abstract concept from long ago, are unmistakable thanks to Baker's structure and characterization.

[The other John · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the problems with the history books I had in school is that they didn't know how to tell a story. They would present names and dates and I would learn a bunch of facts, but I had no clue what it might have been like for the people living through those events. Take the age of exploration, for example. I learned the names of folks like Christopher Columbus, Ferdinand Magellan and Cabeza de Vaca. I was able to look at the maps and see where their journeys had taken them. But I was also living in the age of interstate highways and air travel. The reality of crossing a huge ocean in a small wooden ship or crossing a continent on foot was beyond me. Well, this is a long winded way to say that this book tells a story. It's a fictionalized account of the journey of Cabeza de Vaca, who started a 600-man expedition to Florida and ended up in Mexico with four survivors. The story picks up the expedition in Texas, when the expedition is down to the four men. It is told from the perspective of Chakoh, an native lad who joins the party in hopes of learning more about the Spaniards god. He has heard the tales of the wealth of Mexico and hopes that he might be able to learn enough of their god's medicine to help his impoverished people. What follows is a journey of growth and discovery, as Chakoh sees new lands and discovers a few things about himself. It's a good book, which gives my kids a chance to experience history in a way for which I had to wait some thirty years. Check it out.

[A.H. Haar · Rating 5 out of 5]

My mother read this to my brother and I as a bed time story, many many years ago. Thus I don't remember the details and most if not all of it is hazy. There is one part that sticks out; Esteban tells of the hunger he's felt as a slave all of his life, and the hunger he is feeling now as he wanders. He tells the boy, who I'm sure was hungry, as perhaps they were fantasizing about what they would eat if the options were limitless. Perhaps they pictured themselves at a large feast, with more than enough food to go around. I'm sure their mouths watered at the decadence of it all! But Esteban surprised the boy when he said that if he were at a feast such as this, he would take a slice of meat as thick as a sliver of wood, a tiny scoop hear, a nibble there, and throw away the rest to the dogs! The boy, appalled, questioned Esteban as to why he would throw away such good and wonderful food, especially when they were so hungry. To which Esteban replied "I want to feel so rich that I can throw food away!"

This attitude is also a common leveling mechanism in many band societies. Thought you'd like to know.

[Signe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the books in the Sonlight curriculum for fourth grade U.S. History. It is the story of a young Indian boy that follows three Spaniards and their slave through Indian territory to Mexico. All of the men are searching for riches of one kind or another, except the slave who is content to serve his master with honor. When the Indian boy realizes that the slave is a slave he questions the reality of being honorable and a slave.
I thought is book was very thought provoking. It dealt with what it means to be a slave. How men become enslaved, and how to retain honor no matter what your station in life. It dealt with becoming a slave of our own desires, and how to set ourselves free. We had some very deep and thought provoking discussions around this book. I'm not sure my children got as much from it as I did, but I am very grateful to have read it. It has helped me to sort out some of my own thoughts on how different cultures interact, and how to love your neighbor who is very different than you. I would highly recommend it to anyone, but especially to families studying U.S. history or thinking about foreign missions.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am currently reading this aloud with my two children. It is an excellent and moving story of life in the southwest and Mexico during the early years of conquest and exploration. Seen mostly through the eyes of a young Native American boy, land ownership, greed, slavery are tackled and examined. Very moving.

[Charsia]

The ending was bitter sweet, I don't think i '' love'' bitter sweet endings though, it feels just a bit sad.
I think i enjoy books that have Happy Endings, like american girl books! This was a fun book, some times i forget he is 14, and think he is my age!

[Amy S · Rating 2 out of 5]

Painful. Dragged. Great subject matter when studying early explorers but geez, I suffered through it. I say “I” instead of “we” because I let me son drop out on chapter five. I finished to see what I could summarize for him. Definitely took one for the team.

[Amanda]

This book did not instantly "grab" my kids in the early chapters, but I am so glad that we stuck with it. :)

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read with my small. Had good discussions but it was dry. I think we were both glad when it was done.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Final read aloud of the school year with Micah (last year of FE). We enjoyed this one - it addressed slavery, family, and honor.

[Lasha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed a lot of the information and ideas presented in the book, but didn't enjoy the story.

[Daniel Godfrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't remember if I was assigned to read this one or if someone else was. I'd know the title and cover anywhere though. Pleased to finally know the story behind it. I've been meaning to brush up on Southwest history since I've been brushing up on world history, and by chance this book happened to have both!

It's about the survivors of the Narváez expedition of 1527. Of 600, only four survived: Leader de Vaca, Castillo (who doesn't show up much in this book), wealthy Dorantes and his charismatic slave Esteban. These men journeyed from Florida to Mexico City on foot -- barefoot too even, I think -- going through Arizona to avoid hostile tribes. In Texas, they pick up a native boy named Chakoh. Once the five arrive in Mexico City, they bring news of Cíbola, one of the legendary Seven Cities of Gold. I've been to the National Forest, but this is the first I've heard about the legend!

Esteban and Chakoh are selected as scouts to Cíbola, as on the front cover. (There's a map in the book that shows both routes.) The back cover shows horseriders, which I think is a group who came later.

A couple of famous historical figures show up. Cortez has a brief cameo, but it's Coronado who is later chosen to explore Cíbola.

Also, many distinct native groups. Chakoh is of the Avavares. But they also meet the tea-drinkers and the Buffalo People in Texas. And the Pima and rich Cíbolans in Arizona. The Aztecs are slaves in Mexico City.

A central point is the tension between friends Esteban and Chakoh after leaving Mexico City. Chakoh has always been free, but his tribe lived in an area that did not have much food, unlike Mexico City. (In the beginning, the travelers grind fish bones to dust to eat because that's all they can find.) To Chakoh, slavery only happens when a warrior shamefully chooses it over death after defeat in battle. Esteban, on the other hand, was sold as a slave and has been one for a long time, deeply discouraged when his assistance during the arduous trek is not rewarded with freedom:

"I was taken out of Spain, then taken out of Hispaniola, then out of Cuba to Florida. Now I am being taken out of Mexico."

I felt I learned a lot about the time period. Food was an important issue to me. How did colonization affect it? The story ends by the citizens of Mexico City giving Chakoh seeds to plant when he returns home. But Chakoh intends to use the incantations of the Pima to make them grow. (Did it work?) Then again, Chakoh would not have met the Pima in Arizona if he hadn't traveled with the survivors.... I would like to know more about that, and about Cortez and Coronado too.

Esteban is inspiring, especially his "laughter is the universal language" pantomime of bullfighting that amuses all the tribes he meets.

A page in the front lists four other books by the author, and an author's note in the back has summaries of them in addition to an author bio. I would like to try them out, because this was a very good book!