Kintu: A Congo Adventure

by Elizabeth Enright

Kintu must overcome his fear of the jungle if he is to one day succeed his father as chief of their village.

54 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1935

About the author

Elizabeth Wright Enright Gillham was an American writer of children's books, an illustrator, writer of short stories for adults, literary critic and teacher of creative writing. Perhaps best known as the Newbery Medal-winning author of Thimble Summer (1938) and the Newbery runner-up Gone-Away Lake (1957), she also wrote the popular Melendy quartet (1941 to 1951). A Newbery Medal laureate and a multiple winner of the O. Henry Award, her short stories and articles for adults appeared in many popular magazines and have been reprinted in anthologies and textbooks.
In 2012 Gone-Away Lake was ranked number 42 among all-time children's novels in a survey published by School Library Journal, a monthly with primarily U.S. audience. The first two Melendy books also made the Top 100, The Saturdays and The Four-Story Mistake.

Reviews

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quaint story about a young African boy who has a problem--he is afraid of the jungle. This is not good for the son of the village chief. How can he succeed his father as chief with such a fear? Modern readers may not like his solution--to ask the witch doctor for a charm to help. However, I suspect that the witch doctor was more of a psychologist than a black magician, as he knew that the boy needed to face his fears.

Written in 1935 by a Newbery Award-winning author, this book was illustrated with silhouettes in black, white, and red and with full-color watercolor pages by Enright herself. They make the jungle and the village look soft and safe and appealing. Lovely. Enright's description of the sights and sounds of the jungle make you feel as if you are there, and I love Kintu's happy family. I wish she had written more about Kintu and his people. I've got to recommend this old classic.