Review by GZhang -- Bedu: Bedouin Boy, Poet King

[GZhang]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Bedu: Bedouin Boy, Poet King" by David W. Sutherland and Paul McKellips.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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In Bedu: Bedouin Boy, Poet King by Colonel David W. Sutherland and Paul McKellips, the author explored the connection between "who we are" and "what we do." Bedu is a simple shepherd boy from Damascus, but when King Melchior sends him to Bsharri, Bedu gains knowledge and wisdom, and eventually becomes someone much different than a shepherd boy. Being a shepherd may have been “what Bedu did”, but it wasn’t “who he was”.

What I liked most about the book was how introspective it was. The main character, Bedu, often reflects on his past experiences, and muses on the lessons he’s learned from them. Other characters also emphasize the importance of knowledge and self reflection, with concrete examples of how their lessons have also influenced the world around them. Therefore, it felt like I was also learning these lessons alongside Bedu.

The positive thing about this book was that it used simple language to explain complicated concepts. The lessons were clear and easy to understand. For example, the lesson of the fifth star - Unleash - was that you gain the ability to contribute to something much greater than before if you promote new possibilities instead of keeping knowledge to yourself. This could have been hard to explain, but there was a clear connection between this lesson and the transformation of Bsharri District, so the lesson was taught by comparing the differences that Bedu and his cousin had on the world when Bedu decided to spread his knowledge to others, versus his cousin, who kept his knowledge within his own family.

What I considered negative about this book was that there wasn’t much plot. This is a straightforward story with no big surprises or plot twists, and the story is plot driven instead of character driven. This made it hard to stay engaged. It would have been nice if Bedu’s adventures were elaborated on with more detail, rather than having 3 of the lessons being skimmed over with a few pages.

I found no grammar or punctuation errors in this book. It seems very well edited. Consequently, I rate it 4 out of 4 stars. I recommend this book, Bedu: Bedouin Boy, Poet King, to those interested in exploring the connection between who we are and what we do.

Reading this book helped me to understand some of the Bible’s intended teachings. I feel it will help any reader who has the desire to be introspective about themselves.

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Bedu: Bedouin Boy, Poet King
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