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Reading Baktar: A Tale From The Andes was kind of like eating a banana split. At first it was sooo yummy, then half way through it turned slightly monotonous.
The story opens with a present day husband giving his new bride a tiny kitten with a mysterious pedigree, that comes in a mysterious box, with a mysterious note, and it does mysterious things with pencils in the middle of the night. I have never seen my children in such a lather at the onset of a book! They wanted more, more, more!
But their interest waned when we were introduced to the ancestor of this cat, Baktar, living with the granddaughter of the Inca king, Pachacuti, in Machu Picchu in the 15th Century. What began as a mystery story turns into a story of two people struggling emotionally: the princess with her upcoming marriage, the king with his changing belief in Inti, the sun god. Eventually Baktar sacrifices himself to save Pachacuti by eating his poisoned food. Then the author jumps back to the present day kitten who at this point is old and dies. But not before the contents of that mysterious note are revealed.
I will say this. You might feel regret after polishing off a banana split, but finishing Baktar satisfies due to the knowledge gained about Inca life.
Ages 9-12
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Activity: Here is a link to instructions on how to make your own llama.
The story opens with a present day husband giving his new bride a tiny kitten with a mysterious pedigree, that comes in a mysterious box, with a mysterious note, and it does mysterious things with pencils in the middle of the night. I have never seen my children in such a lather at the onset of a book! They wanted more, more, more!
But their interest waned when we were introduced to the ancestor of this cat, Baktar, living with the granddaughter of the Inca king, Pachacuti, in Machu Picchu in the 15th Century. What began as a mystery story turns into a story of two people struggling emotionally: the princess with her upcoming marriage, the king with his changing belief in Inti, the sun god. Eventually Baktar sacrifices himself to save Pachacuti by eating his poisoned food. Then the author jumps back to the present day kitten who at this point is old and dies. But not before the contents of that mysterious note are revealed.
I will say this. You might feel regret after polishing off a banana split, but finishing Baktar satisfies due to the knowledge gained about Inca life.
Ages 9-12
◊◊◊◊
Activity: Here is a link to instructions on how to make your own llama.
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