Children’s Story Helps Readers Recognize the Need for Mentors

Children’s tales should never run out of exemplary elders to guide the youth.

Norfolk, VA, USA – WEBWIRE – Tuesday, July 18, 2017

This children’s story emphasizes the important role of soothsayers and other learned men in African communities.

Kenyan immigrant David Omondi published his first children’s book “Benedict and the Magic Chameleon” (AuthorHouse, 2016) under the pen name Ovid Singh. This fun story takes place in Africa and is about Benedict, a young village boy who possesses the power to change the color of his eyes.

Benedict obtains such power when he wanders out of the homestead one day to catch a butterfly. He stumbles upon a chameleon. Thinking that Benedict intends to harm him, the reptile spits into the boy’s eyes. Benedict suffers blindness and skin rashes for some time, and when he recovers, he finds out he could change the color of his eyes.

As he tries to come to terms with his newfound ability, a soothsayer cautions him against making known his magic to others or else he loses it. This marks the story’s most profound moment, depicting the elderly, in the person of the soothsayer, as a valuable source of guidance and mentorship. As a youth who has yet to make sense of his ‘magic’, Benedict deserves a wise adult to serve as his mentor. Meanwhile, the story also emphasizes the important role soothsayers play in African societies.

Will Benedict heed the advice of the soothsayer? That’s for reads to find out when they get a copy of Omondi’s “Benedict and the Magic Chameleon,” available at http://ovidsingh.com

“Benedict and the Magic Chameleon”
Written by: Ovid Singh
Published by: AuthorHouse
Publishing date: April 21, 2016
Paperback price: $20.99

About the Author:

David Omondi is a native of Kenya who came to America at the beginning of the millennium. Born in the later 1960s, David was inspired by storytelling and folklore from his grandmother and mother while young. So many stories have been passed down through generations, yet some remain untold. David grew up in the village where he came across a lot of creepy living things and animals in the habitat. He had observed the chameleon quietly, where it moved, ate, mate, and the way it camouflaged when its space was invaded. The book “Benedict and the Magic Chameleon” is the first publication among other series depicting the little boy’s curiosity that turned his naivety into brilliancy. Benedict, after encountering a chameleon, has been endowed with the ability to see what other normal people could not see. As long as the boy did not reveal his powers, the spell stayed with him.