Facing the Lion: Growing up Maasai on the African Savanna »

Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton is a Maasai tribesman who grew up on the savanna of northern Kenya. He teaches eighth grade social studies in Langley, Virginia and holds a master's degree in International Education Policy from Harvard University. Each summer he brings a group of students and parents to Kenya to work on development projects that help his people.

Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton gives American kids a firsthand look at growing up in Kenya as a member of a tribe of nomads whose livelihood centers on the raising and grazing of cattle. Readers share Lekuton's first encounter with a lion, the epitome of bravery in the warrior tradition. They follow his mischievous antics as a young Maasai cattle herder, coming-of-age initiation, boarding school escapades, soccer success, and journey to America for college. Lekuton's riveting text combines exotic details of nomadic life with the universal experience and emotions of a growing boy.

The Washington Post

Once a warrior, always a warrior. Facing the Lion describes Lekuton's extraordinary passage between worlds and his continuing effort to hold the two in balance. — Elizabeth Ward