Our Secret, Siri Aang - Tapa blanda

Twelve-year-old Namelok can't tell anyone about the mother black rhino and her baby that she found in the bush while collecting firewood for her Maasai tribe. She vows to protect them always, visit them often, and to keep them secret. But when her initiation into womanhood threatens her secret visits, Namelok must say goodbye to her precious animal friends. Before she can, though, she makes a horrifying discovery, one that sends her on a harrowing journey into the bush in a desperate search for poachers and the justice they deserve. Cristina Kessler has written a powerful and authentic story of a young girl's love for a rhino mother and her baby, and of her courage to challenge tradition to defend them.

Cristina Kessler knew she wanted to be a writer at the age of ten, and since she was twelve, she knew she would travel the world. Not surprisingly, she put these two early dreams together. A Peace Corps worker originally, for thirty years, she lived abroad, but for nineteen of those years, Africa was what she called home. Africa is not only where Cristina's books are set, it is where her heart is. Her love and respect for the people and her personal connection brings an authenticity and life to her stories rare in children's books. Committed to sharing these rich cultures with her American readers, Cristina has authored the award-winning Our Secret, Siri Aang, a story of the Maasai set in Kenya, and many other children's books and young adult novels set in Africa. She and her husband, Joe, currently reside on St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands, but they still visit Africa at least once a year.