Alexander McCall Smith’s Akimbo Book Series for Kids: Rated PG

I have loved the bestselling #1 Ladies Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith, so when I learned that he writes children’s books, too, I was delighted. I looked forward to having my children learn about African geography and culture while being entertained. I checked the recommended age range on Amazon – ages 4-8, and my two oldest are 5 and 7, so I thought “Great!” and bought all four books in the series. Akimbo and the Lions was back-ordered, so this review covers Akimbo and the Elephants, Akimbo and the Snakes, and Akimbo and the Crocodile Man.

Akimbo is a young boy, somewhere around 7-10 (it never says specifically), who lives in Africa with his parents. His father is the head ranger of a large game reserve, and he sometimes lets Akimbo come with him and help him in his work. One time a Crocodile Man comes to visit, and Akimbo is allowed to come along and help him, as well.

In Akimbo and the Snakes, Akimbo visits his Uncle Peter, who owns a snake park, for an entire school break. In all his adventures, Akimbo demonstrates his love for the animals of Africa and desire to learn about and help them.

In Akimbo and the Elephants, Akimbo is saddened when he and his father discover a mother elephant slain for her valuable ivory tusks, and the little baby elephant left behind. He vows to do something to help the elephants.

In Akimbo and the Crocodile Man, Akimbo accompanies the Crocodile Man in capturing and tagging a mother crocodile and her newly hatched babies to learn about their survival.

In Akimbo and the Snakes, Akimbo takes his job feeding and observing various snakes very seriously, and he accompanies his Uncle Peter in trying to capture the deadly green mamba to add to the collection.

The books are wonderful, full of the vibrant imagery of Africa that is a hallmark of Smith’s books. My 7 year old was even inspired to draw a gorgeous picture of Africa and the elephants after we read the book. They are interesting high-adventure stories.

Parents Beware!

I don’t think the age recommendation for these books is accurate. First, the books were too difficult for my 7 year old to read by herself, and she reads above grade-level. Second, Akimbo gets himself into all kinds of dangerous and frightening (not to mention far-fetched) situations: he is charged by elephants and a rhino, he gets himself involved with fierce animal poachers, he has to swim through crocodile-infested waters and hotwire a truck (!) in order to help rescue the injured Crocodile Man, and he finds himself trapped in the cab of a truck with a green mamba, thought by some to be the deadliest snake alive, wrapped around his foot. Some children in the recommended age range may be overly frightened by these situations, and may become concerned that these kinds of things happen to little kids every day.

Another concern is that sometimes kids in that age range have a difficult time distinguishing between fantasy and reality and think that getting involved with poachers or hotwiring trucks are things they might want to try or are capable of doing. After reading the books myself, I chose to only read them to my 7 year old, as I really don’t think my 5 year old could handle them yet. I think Mary Pope Osbourne’s Magic Tree House Series, also recommended for ages 4-8, does a better job of providing age-appropriate adventure.

The Akimbo books provide adventure and fun, but are much better suited to kids ages 7-11.