Shaka King Of The Zulas is a biography of one of Africa's kings. When a sheep gets killed on Shaka's watch, he is disgraced further by his mother who tries to defend him. Shaka and his mother had to leave their clan and eventually end up with another clan led by a powerful ruler. Shaka develops unique fighting skills and is placed as ruler over his own clan. He gains in power, but is later killed by men who thought him to be too harsh.

Sometimes, I thought authority figures in my life were too harsh, but now I realize that what I interpreted as harshness was really for safety.

As a classroom extension, we would locate Africa on the map and learn that is a continent. We would also learn about foods and clothing of the culture.

I really enjoyed this book and I feel that it is a great book for boys to read because it can give them some type of hero that isnt taking steroids or cheating on their wife(Tiger). This story is about the son of a king that leaves home and returns to his people after his fathers death to become king. He teaches his men to become great warriors and he becomes a great king. The pictures in this book were great as well and they had a lot of detail. ( )

Nonfiction. Information/ narrative book. Looks like real pictures, probably drawn with pastals. A biography of the nineteenth-century military genius and Zulu chief.

Bernard Magubane (Africa Access Review)
"Shaka, the King of the Zulu is a legendary figure in the history of the people of South Africa and writing about him is no easy matter. His strength and his vision have inspired the works of many writers in Africa and elsewhere. He is compared with such figures as Charlemagne and Napoleon. To others, especially the apartheid rulers of South Africa, he represents the very epitome of evil. And recently a "spectacular" on Shaka was shown on American television. The whole series amounted to a gigantic farce. This beautifully illustrated book for children is a welcome departure from the calumny Shaka's childhood has been subjected to in the past. Shaka's difficult childhood, his achievements as youth and adult are not only placed in a proper historical context but are done with a great deal of empathy and understanding. Every African who has heard about Shaka and reads this book will find a lot to identify with. Reading the book and looking at the illustrations made me nostalgic about my country. Diane Stanley, who did the illustrations, captures the beautiful Natal scenery in her drawing. In the first illustration, we see Shaka crouching, with his stick crossing his thighs and modeling clay cows -- a pastime for young men herding cattle. In the distance we see an African homestead. Between Shaka and the homestead, is a multi-colored head of cattle grazing. This was a typical scene in my childhood. The only thing that is out of place are the sandals. The typical Zulu sandals have straps that run across the foot rather than straps between the toes. This is just a minor quibble. Shaka as portrayed here provides a positive hero for all children." ( )