In this last book of the Anika Scott series, Anika’s term at boarding school begins badly, when her classmate Sabrina announces to everyone that Anika has “an illegitimate brother who drinks.” Despite Anika’s fears, the other girls do not hold this against her, but this only makes Sabrina’s grudge against her grow. Anika feels convicted about her own anger with Sabrina, but she does not know how to stop the feud. Only after seeking Sabrina out to apologize one night does Anika discover how lonely and unloved her classmate feels. This book shows rather clearly the difference between two boarding school students – one who feels confident of her parents unfailing love, and the other who is convinced that her parents have sent her away because she interferes in their work.
Reading level: age 10-14 years
After Anika’s half-brother, Rick, arrives unexpectedly in Africa, the Scott family decides to spend some time with him at Kenya’s game parks. Still struggling to accept Rick’s arrival, Anika is even more confused when he begins to express his hostile views of Christians and Christianity. To complicate things further, fellow missionaries believe her parents should resign because Rick’s arrival has compromised their testimony. Anika’s attempt to seek help for a wounded animal have different consequences than she intends, and she and Rick find themselves in the middle of a confrontation with poachers.
Although this fourth book in the Anika Scott series does not deal with these problems in a simplistic way, the Scott family seems to give spiritual responses to questions or comments far more than most missionaries would, unless it was specifically for the purpose of expressing their beliefs to a non-Christian in their midst (as, in this case, perhaps it was).
Reading level: age `10-14 years
Anika has always longed to climb Mount Kenya, so when she has a chance to go, she is determined to make it to the top. Even her mother’s tearful response to a letter and the confusing conversation she overhears between her parents cannot distract her from her goal. But when a strange young man shows up on the mountain with them, Anika has to fight to keep her mind on the grueling climb, and when her lurking suspicions are confirmed, and she learns the young man is her half-brother, she needs to call to mind all that God taught her amidst the dangers and hardships of the climb to help her to respond in a Christlike way. This is the third book in the Anika Scott series about a Canadian MK to Kenya.
Reading level: age 10-14 years
In this second book of the Anika Scott MK series, Anika faces reentering Canada. When her family takes an unscheduled furlough because of her father’s health, Anika misses Kenya but tries to fit in in Canada. But the one person close to her age who is supposed to help her to overcome this frightening new situation is just plain mean. But her cousin Tianna has her own issues. Anika gets caught up in the problems facing Tianna whose parents are on the verge of divorce.
Reading level: age 10-14 years
The first in the Anika Scott series, this story is about a missionary kid (MK) in Kenya. In this book 12 year old Anika tries to overcome her initial dislike of Lisa, the new MK on the field who wants nothing more to go back to the States. At the same time Anika worries that her own family will be forced to leave the field because of her father’s illness. In the face of both frustration and danger, Anika relies on her faith in God, and in the process, she discovers something new about His trustworthiness. Other books in the series include: Tianna the Terrible, Anika’s Mountain, Ambush at Amboseli, and Sabrina the Schemer. These are some of the best Christian books for MKs in this age group, as they deal quite realistically and matter-of-factly with MK life.
Reading level: age 9-13 years
Dean, and his friends, Matt, Dave and Jon, live on the same mission station. Together the four boys, who call themselves the Rugendo Rhinos, spend their afternoons and weekends exploring in the bush. When they stumble across two Kenyan boys, one dead and one very sick, they find themselves involved in a dangerous dispute. The father of the dead boy, certain his son died from a witch doctor’s curse, seeks a similar revenge. The boys, their families, and the African believers face the reality of spiritual forces, yet seek to distinguish what events are naturally v.s. supernaturally caused. The boys’ normal (but fun) activities at school balance the intensity of the spiritual warfare in the story. Still, this book might be too intense for younger kids.
The “Rugendo Rhino Tales” feature fourth-sixth grade boys, and are written for late elementary/ middle school boys. The original books are out of print (though still available on Amazon), but they were re-issued as Kindle books (with a few new additions to the series). In the Kindle series, Matt (a western MK in the original books) is replaced by Mato, a Kenyan boy, who also plays a more central role.
