TALES OF AN IKUT SWAMI is a collection of my experiences with women in the Developing World. Each country was a new adventure and a new challenge and being an Ikut Swami gave me the freedom to try whatever opportunities came my way. Some of the stories are based on people that I knew for more than a year, and others lasted weeks, months, and in one case, an afternoon. But each was recorded in a notebook or journal, which preserved details I definitely would have forgotten by now. One is a portion of an article I wrote for the early Ms. Magazine, but all the rest are recorded treasured memories. It would be great if these stories trigger a walk down Memory Lane for all that read the book, thinking about amazing women they have met. And it lets us know that someway, big or small, we can all make a difference. - Cristina Kessler

Tales of an Ikut Swami

Biographies & Memoirs

Kessler, Cristina

Memoirs

Cristina Kessler

Ayisha and Ahmed know there is trouble. Something is not right with this American archaeologist and his wife. Supposedly tourists. Why are they so interested in the ancient manuscripts of Timbuktu? Could they really be plotting to steal one? Well, they are more than old manuscripts to Ayisha and Ahmed—they are a rich part of their own heritage. No way are the two teens going to let this happen! They risk everything to stop them, embarking on a desperate quest that takes them across the desert, through a deadly heat, a sweeping sandstorm and fi nally to the port city of Korioume to confront and trap the wily thieves—and save a treasure of Timbuktu.

Trouble in Timbuktu

Education & Teaching

KONTE CHAMELEON is feeling fine, fine, fine––until he hops on a wild, red orchid and sees his body and tail turn red as the setting sun. Now he is convinced he is sick, sick, sick. So he visits Doctor Jolloh. When Doctor Jolloh tells Konte to climb onto a yellow flower, Konte turns yellow as a ripe banana. When Konte jumps on a brown rock, he turns brown as a coconut. Konte weighs the evidence of his own eyes and reaches the conclusion that it is the chameleon’s nature to change color wherever he goes. Cristina Kessler’s spirited retelling of this West African folk tale features two memorable and endearing characters––Konte Chameleon and Doctor Jolloh––who are brought to life through Christian Epanya’s lush and lively illustrations. Children will laugh with Konte and Doctor Jolloh and marvel at one of nature’s fascinating creatures––the changing chameleon. The colorful and repetitive language makes this picture book a perfect choice for reading aloud.

Konte Chameleon Fine, Fine, Fine!: A West African Folk Tale

Children's Books

Animals

My Great-Grandmother's Gourd

Set in Sudan and tells the story of modern technology replacing traditional ways, and ultimately the wisdom of combining the old and the new. It’s based on a true event, and shares the universal theme of “Don’t mess with my grandmother”, and family loyalty. A delightful story about keeping old traditions while accepting those that are new. The people of a Sudanese village are excited about a shiny new water pump. Never again will they have to use old methods for getting water-or so they think. Fatima’s grandmother, however, remembers how people relied on storing water in the baobab trees in the past, and she is determined to prepare her tree before the rains come, despite the ridicule of her neighbors. Then, one day, the pump breaks and the villagers appreciate the old woman’s caution. The well-written story generates a warm feeling as Fatima’s grandmother speaks of the olden days and her granddaughter is able to learn and appreciate the ways of her elders. The impressionistic oil paintings are vivid and detailed, greatly enhancing the story. A wonderful book to bring generations together or to learn about different cultures.

I m bored! I m tired! I m thirsty! That is all Miss B. hears from her students during a field trip to Great Pond to look for a bird called Hope. Little do the kids know that the amazing story of this whimbrel, a species of shorebird, will not only take their breath away, but by the end of the day nothing will be more important than to see Hope for themselves.Based on the true story of a bird's annual journey that even scientists knew little about, Hope Is Here! will teach, entertain, and leave the reader with a deeper appreciation of just how incredible nature really is.Award-winning author and St. John resident Cristina Kessler was contacted by first lady Cecile de Jongh’s office to write a book to give away to the territory’s children during her annual Christmas party. Kessler was allowed to write what ever she chose, and she knew right away that she would tell Hope’s story.“I think it’s a great story of science with a heart,” she said. “I found it very inspiring and I thought maybe kids would too.”A whimbrel is a small, brown, speckled shorebird that flies thousands of miles at a single stretch. The birds find wetland areas to feed – called staging grounds – in between very long migratory flights.Hope was one of seven whimbrels tagged in 2008 and 2009 as part of a joint project between the Nature Conservancy and the Center for Conservation Biology at the College of William &amp; Mary in Virginia. She is the only one of her group that is still alive and – until last year – was transmitting data.

Hope is Here!

Reference

One Night: a story from the desert

Literature & Fiction

Genre Fiction

This is a YA novel that involves time travel, a talking chevron trade bead and a young Sudanese girl. Izdihar finds a beautiful bead on the desert sands one night after a giant haboob dust storm. Desperate to leave the village before her parents marry her off to an old man, she asks the bead to take her back through its life.What follows is a trip that will take my readers through time and places, following the bead's life and all the things traded for it by a string of owners. Izdihar names the bead Bella, and an adventure begins that starts in Murano, Italy in the 1800s, more than two hundred years before. Together she and the rather cocky bead travel to Morocco, Senegal, Mali, Nigeria and back to Sudan.Izdihar's ticket home is based upon her asking the bead the right question. She learns many things along the way, including how much the present resembles the past, and the importance of not making instant judgements.Many unexpected experiences await Izdihar as she travels back two centuries and then forward to 2020. Fear, joy, humility, and confidence all arise during her travels.As Bella challenges Izdihar throughout their travels, they disagree frequently, admire events together, make snap decisions and their friendship grows. Eventually Izdihar is reunited with her family. Can you guess what the correct question was to facilitate that final trip home?

The Odyssey of Iz

Science Fiction & Fantasy

Science Fiction

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Books by Cristina Kessler