As a book-lover, I have thousands (literally) of children's books. In that assortment, I have a number of adoption-related and/or culturally appropriate books for my children adopted from all over the world. I promise not to bore you with reviewing ALL of our books, but I will be working on reviewing ones that relate to either adoption, Africa, or both.

"Fire on the Mountain" is a children's book based on an Ethiopian folk tale. Author Jane Kurtz grew up in Ethiopia, after moving there with her parents when she was but two years old. She has a love of Ethiopia that she has been able to share through her writing. Illustrator E. B. Lewis has done a lovely job of capturing the story AND the setting through his beautiful artwork.

This story is about Alemayu, a young shepherd left orphaned when disease sweeps his village. He decides at that point, that he will go to town and work with his sister as a servant in the house of a bad-tempered, boastful rich man. He becomes the "watcher of the cows" and spends many hours outdoors caring for them. One day, challenged by his master, the boy wagers that he can survive a night alone in the bitter cold of the mountains. If Alemayu wins, he will be rewarded with 4 cows and a bag of money. If he fails, he and his sister will be thrown out of the rich man's house.

Read this book to find out how Alemayu and his sister overcome the master's trickery by giving him a dose of his medicine. It's a cute story, with a good lesson. I recommend this book to any family adopting from Africa, not just Ethiopia. I like it, my kids like it and laugh over the ending. I bet your family will enjoy it as well.