Crazy Boy the Hero

Crazy Boy the Hero by Steve Townsend, is the first in a series of books about a young boy's adventures set in the lakeside town of Kibuye in Rwanda, Africa. Agasazi (the Crazy Boy) is asked by his mother to fetch some water. On his way he gets distracted by his friends, eventually leading him to be a hero. Sketch illustrations throughout the book help show the readers not only events in the story but also some of the scenery of Kibuye. A map at the beginning of the book helps the reader to relate to Agasazi's movements throughout the story.

Crazy Boy the Hero is written for 6-10 years olds, in a narrative style, but from a child’s perspective. The book shows that the everyday life of a child of that age is magic enough for great stories. Although the main character of the story, Agasazi, is identified as the craziest boy in the world, his personality is very typical of all children his age and therefore is easy for children to identify with. Whilst the boy himself does not actually exist, his desire for fun, friendship, play and adventure does exist in every child.

A short educational section is included after the story explaining where the water we drink comes from. Because the book is set in another continent it cannot help but touch on issues and cultural differences that require some explanation to the reader (e.g. children fetching water; the use of domestic help in households; life without electricity; joys and dangers of swimming; etc.) and therefore the book has education content that naturally springs from the story.