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Collection
Publication
Description
Based on a true story about a young Kenyan boy whose mother left him but had named him Muthini which meant suffering because he was born with no fingers on his left hand and only two on his right. Many times he was made fun of or avoided which hurt him deeply. He lives with his very elderly grandmother, his Nyanya, along with many cousins whose parents had either died or left them. They are extremely poor and there is never enough money or food, but plenty of love. A difficult choice must be made and Muthini is the youngest child and needs to have a better chance in life, so his Nyanya takes him to an orphanage where he is blessed and his name is changed to Baraka which means blessing for he was a blessing just as his grandmother always knew.… (more)
Local notes
Gr 3–5—The opening illustration of this moving story invites readers to journey with a young Kenyan boy named Muthini, which means Suffering. The youngest of nine cousins, all orphaned and raised by their elderly grandmother, Muthini was born with fingers missing on both hands. He is teased in the village but his grandmother, Grace, focuses on his strengths, stating, "It is so sad that other children only have ten fingers when you have a larger heart, a bigger brain, and greater spirit." Unable to feed her family, she chooses Muthini to live at a residential school where he is welcomed as Baraka, or Blessing. Lyrical language is matched by expressive acrylic illustrations that capture the emotional text. Some paintings reproduce photographs from the back matter; an author's note describes Walters's 2007 visit to Mbooni District, Kenya, where he learned that disease and famine left 500 children orphaned.