This was one of the most delightful books that I have read in a long time. I love the perspective of Zada and how she protected the baby chicks. I thought the descriptions of the desert and the sand storm were vivid and created quite the conflict in the story! I will use this in my classroom with my middle school students.

Kathi Appelt has done it again with this adorable animal character fiction adventure novel. The personalities of the main characters are charming and endearing, and the plot is unique and gripping. You can't help but root for the main character! This is a great fiction novel for all ages!

It is 1910 and Zada is a camel living in the desert of Texas. Yes, a camel. This is the story of where Zada came from, how she arrived in the United states, and all her adventures once here. It begins in 1850 with Zada camel racing in Smyrna Turkey. She crossed the ocean to the US, and ends up carrying supplies for the US Army in the Chisos Mountains, Texas. Zada is the “aunt” to two baby kestrels, Little Beulah and Wims, but when a sand storm hits and separates the kestrels from their parents, Pard and Perlita., Zada becomes their protector, which entails avoiding Pecos de Leon and soothing the chicks by telling them her stories. Some stories are plot, character, or them driven, but I found ONCE UPON A CAMEL to be marvelously voice driven. The dialogue and language are beautiful, as are the cast of animals incorporated into the story. I highly recommend this book, which is based on the stories told by the author's grandfather.
Thank you to Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books , and imprint of Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing, and Netgalley for the digital arc

Once Upon a Camel is another great classroom read aloud by Kathi Appelt. I can't wait to hear what teachers and students will say about a Camel raising baby birds!

This is an interesting tale of a camel that is friends with two kestrels. They give her the chicks to carry on her head and keep them safe.
Antheneum and Edelweiss let me read this book for review (thank you). It will be published September 7th.

The camels are taught to race and do quite well at it. The royal Pasha of Smyrna, makes them a gift and soon they are taken to Texas. That's where she meets the kestrels. And it's also where a bad sand storm separates everyone.

The mom and pop kestrels get separated. The camel and the two baby birds head for shelter. They even get to meet the mountain lion who lives there.

Will they be able to find their mom and dad? What will happen to the camel?

What a fabulous escape it is to spend time lost in these pages with Zada and her stories. Appelt weaves a wonderful set of tales within tales that will not only educate but will also captivate readers. She voices Zada as a contemporary-sounding character, which will appeal to the intended audience and elicit chuckles from readers of all ages. Lyrical, magical, and whimsical, ONCE UPON A CAMEL is not to be missed.

"Sometimes, it seems, the storyteller needs the story as much as the listeners, and after all, there was so much more to tell."

Once Upon a Camel by Kathi Appelt is a sweet tale—set in the Chisos Mountains in West Texas in 1910—about Zada the camel protecting a couple of kestrel chicks during a huge dust storm or haboob. Zada sooths Beulah’s and Wims’s fear and sorrow at the disappearance of their parents by telling them several tales, including from her childhood in Smyrna, Turkey, with her best friend, Asiye, and Teodor, their keeper and the Pasha’s cameleer. Teodor’s job is to prepare the camels for the Pasha’s elite racing team, and Zada has many memories of that special time in her life.

The targeted audience for this delightful story is middle grade, but everyone can find pleasure in this simple yet poignant story about trust, responsibility, courage, and friendship. As an embedded narrative or story-within-a-story, Once Upon a Camel shows some similarities to Arabian Nights and Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. Just as in those classic tales, Zada must tell her stories to achieve a purpose. In this case, she must distract and amuse her charges while protecting them from the dust storm and the mountain lion whose lair—empty at the moment, thank goodness—they duck into to wait out the storm.

The prose is a unique combination of fairy tale, juvenile fiction, and thrilling adventure, and young readers and adult readers alike will be quickly drawn into Zada's story and embedded stories and her smart way of keeping the kestrel chicks safe. Will the kestrel parents Pard and Perlita ever be reunited with their wee offspring? Can Zada fulfill her promise to get Beulah and Wims to safety? Will the haboob ever abate and stop its dusty, deadly destruction? Will Zada lose her patience with the birdy sibling’s bickering? How and why did Zada travel from Turkey to Texas? Diving into Once Upon a Camel will reveal all the answers and more and provide a significant level of amusement and distraction.

Once Upon a Camel is a great example of Kathi Appelt’s wide range of storytelling skills. Truly, all her books are worth exploring, no matter your age or story preference, because Kathi delivers pure entertainment, again and again. Zada and the other characters in Once Upon a Camel will certainly charm and maybe even make you ponder the timeless value of friendship, true love, memories, and promises kept.

I received a free copy of this book from Lone Star Book Blog Tours in exchange for my honest review.

A camel and two baby birds fight against the weather, predators and time in this middle grade book.
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Zada, an old camel living in Texas in 1910, has a million stories to tell and it’s a good thing too because after a dust storm sends two American kestrels away she’s left with their baby chicks to take care of. Stuck in a cave, waiting out the storm, she tells the story of how a camel made its way to Texas with her best friend Asiye and the adventures they had.
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This MG novel did a number on me. My eyes are still puffy from crying. Kathi Applet has such a way with characters, making them feel incredibly real and jump right off the page. This story will be amazing as an audiobook I can already tell. I love it for a Texas Bluebonnet nomination for 2022 and after reading it and the Author’s Note, it has my vote. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
CW: animal death

Once Upon a Camel, a middle grade chapter book written by award-winning author Kathi Appelt with pictures by Eric Rohmann is a heart-warming, educational story that is perfect for animal & history lovers. The twist is that this story is told from the point of view of Zada, an old camel who is thrust into protecting the baby chicks of two kestrel friends as a wind storm rushes their way. Zada takes the journey seriously as they make their way across the wilderness towards safety and hopefully the chicks can reunite with their parents who were carried away by the storm. To help the time pass, Zada recalls how she came to live in Texas from Turkey. Through a series of flashbacks the touching tale leaps off the page and ends in the most uplifting, surprising way imaginable.

I highly recommend this for elementary, middle school and home libraries, especially those with readers who enjoyed The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate. If readers like this book, then I suggest offering them Exiled: Memoirs of a Camel by Kathleen Karr about the perspective of an Egyptian camel who ends up in the U.S. There are similarities between the camels' experiences and those interested in the real-life history of camels being brought to the U.S. in the 1850s to be part of the camel corps for the U.S. Army. The illustrations also help the story move forward and softens the high stakes situations in which Zada finds herself.

In all of Kathi Appelt’s books, what I have found that I adore the most is her ability to craft voice. She is brilliant. In this book, Zada the camel’s voice rings throughout with patience and determination. I was calmed by her stories of her upbringing as she works to keep the baby kestrels’ minds off of their parents. I think part of Appelt’s magic to craft voice is through her very specific word choice in all instances. Her descriptive words are so precise, and she is never deterred to use a word that may be challenging if it is the correct word. This leads to such lyrical prose–it is a pleasure to read!

There is also so much to learn throughout this story about stories: weather events (haboobs), animals of West Texas (kesterels, mountain lions, hawks, and more), and the history of camels. I found myself going on research tangents as I was introduced to different animals or different adventures that Zada goes on. It is no wonder that the Reading Group Guide is so extensive–there is so much to delve into!

Okay. I’ll admit it. I’m a real sap when it comes to stories that personify animals, but in all the years I’ve not met one quite as charming as Zada, and I never thought I would find a camel charming.

Just saying. Horses. Dogs. Cats. They are all delightful in their own ways, but oh, this girl named Zada won my heart.

The structure of the story was smooth, going from present time to the past. The drama never faltered as we were with Zada and the chicks, racing to beat the danger of the horrible wind that could blow those little passengers to kingdom come, for a little while before jumping back in time to the history of how Zada and her camel friends were brought to the United States. Learning that history was an added bonus for me, and I’m sure it will be for other readers. An introduction to some words and phrases in other languages was interesting, too.

And you can say what you want about camels, dirty, stinky beasts that they are, but I dare you not to fall in love with Zada. Go ahead. Get the book and see what I mean.

The relationships between characters in the story are precious, especially with Zada and the chicks who worry so about the bird parents and what dangers they might face before finding safety from the storm. I also love the tenacity of Perlita, the mother bird who fought her own battle to make it back and reunite the family. Family, be it human, animal, or fowl, is held together most of the time by the strength of the mother. Since Perlita is not there to help her chicks in the beginning of the story, Zada steps in as a perfect substitute, even though she wonders how on earth to keep the chicks safe.

You don’t have to be a young kid to enjoy this book. The kid in us all needs a fun read like this at times.

“Stories, my birditos, come in all shapes and sizes. Some are long. Some are short. Some make us smile and other make us…well…a little weepy. And then there are stories that leave us with an open-ended question…..”

Once Upon a Camel is a story that swiftly became endearing to my heart for specific reasons. One is how Kathi Appelt wove the story of Zada, a camel from Turkey, and two young American kestrels into a story based on historical facts of the US Army bringing camels to Texas in the mid-1800s. Appelt weaves historical camel facts with impeccable fiction.

I first heard about the U.S. Army camels and their historical story around 2006 when I was working trying to save a Texas historical ranch. Then I got to meet some real camels living in Texas.

Two, this story is a story of stories. Once Upon a Camel is a story about Zada and her life in Turkey and the United States. It is also a story of how Zada saves two baby American kestrels from a severe sandstorm and all the perils entailed with that feat.

This book is geared towards children but even adults will also enjoy this gem of a book. Yes – there are some big words in this book for kids and thankfully Kathi offers a glossary at the end.

Once Upon a Camel is a story that I love and highly recommend it for children because it weaves historical facts into an imaginary tale about a camel saving baby birds.

“From their very beginnings, they have slept beneath the stars. They’ve seen the Pleiades scatter their meteors across the desert floor. They’ve watched comets come streaking overhead, tails blazing. They’ve fallen asleep to the songs of star-bears, their lullabies soft in their ears.”

Kathi saved the best for the very last… we all have stories to tell to help us make sense of this crazy world and we need to share them. Thank you, Kathi, for sharing Zada’s story.

A particular shout-out to illustrator Eric Rohmann on all the drawings for this book. Artistically they enhanced this story with perfection that carried the words and emotions of the story even further.

What an enticing tale to encourage young readers. I think this is a book my great-niece would enjoy with the characters, history, and the stories within the story.

This adventure follows Zada, a camel that has made her way to Texas from the middle east. We learn about Zada's life growing up in Smyrna and what happened to her once she arrived in Texas and how she came to be in Texas. This is all told through stories to two Kestrel chicks that have been separated from their parents during a haboob or windstorm. Haboobs aren't common to Texas so we would call it something else but that brings in a new word for the reader. As Zada and the chicks take shelter in a cave, she has to worry if the mountain lion will be there and decide to attack or if they will be able to ride out the storm in peace. Thankfully, it is the former, but this is when the stories really begin and there is even a story that involves the lion that Zada wisely saves for when it is needed to protect them.

The two Kestrel chicks are a hoot and are constantly bugging each other and it reminds me of any family with children that complain about someone touching them, or crossing a line, or just basically bugging their sibling. However, Zada is able to bring calm and peace to the situation with her stories and keep the chicks safe while entertaining them so they don't get into trouble. 

Each story is magical and I loved the illustrations that accompany the book. I appreciated the dates at the beginning of each chapter so I knew if this was Zada's past or more of her present. 

This is not only an entertaining book but one that is educational as well. I learned things about camels, weather, birds (especially Kestrels), history, and so much more. I really enjoy it when a story incorporates history in a fun way that you don't realize you are learning something new.

We give this book 5 paws up.

A new book by Kathi Appelt is always a treat and Once Upon a Camel doesn't disappoint. The idea of a camel taking care of baby birds is certainly different but works.

This is the story of Zada, a camel who is born into the Pasha's stables of racing camels and is given as a gift to the United States. She and her herd travel across the ocean to Texas but are abandoned in the Texas desert. She survives as camels do and makes other friends. The story begins with a sandstorm that is imperiling the baby kestrels she's made friends with. She makes her way to a cave that she believes to be safe and tries to reunite the babies with their parents. This is a riveting story of survival that is told over multiple time periods. It's compelling and funny and just a terrific read. DO NOT MISS THIS ONE.

If you are familiar with the writing of Kathi Appelt, it will come as no surprise that she gets into the minds of animals to tell a spellbinding story. She does this again in her new middle grade novel, Once Upon a Camel. The book opens as a dust storm blanket bears down in the middle of Texas mountain lion territory in 1910. The old camel Zada takes on the task of saving two kestrel chicks who ride in the fluff on the top of her head as she tries to outdistance the storm. Meanwhile, their parents, Perlita and Pard, become separated from each other and their chicks.

Zada keeps the chicks calm and entertained with her stories. Some of them are imaginative. Some are memoirs of her beginnings with her camel friend Asiye as they win camel races for the Pasha of Smyrna back in 1850 before they come to Texas. They rode with thirty-two other camels on a US Navy ship through rough weather to become part of an experiment where they would become pack animals.

Even as Zada spins her stories, she worries. Will she be able to find the Mission and safety? Will the kestrel parents get through the storm and find the babies? And then there is the tricky mountain lion, Ponce de Leon. She needs to take shelter in his cave, but will he turn up?

While Kathi draws the tense reader into the story of worry and peril of the adults in the story – Perlita, Pard, and Zada – an equally talented Eric Rohmann paints their pictures. Together they have made a book that will be loved by middle graders and anyone who appreciates a good story with beautiful pictures.

Thank you, NetGalley for an e-ARC of Once Upon a Camel. Zada, the camel, is patient and determined as she tries to save two baby kestrels during a dust storm. To keep the kestrels calm, Zada tells them stories about her life. A masterpiece in storytelling! @NetGalley @kappelt

Zada, raised to be one of the Pasha's famous racing camels, is given as a gift, along with several other camels, to the United States to aid in its westward expansion. When readers meet Zada, she is an old camel living in West Texas and finds herself the spontaneous guardian of two baby kestrels as a terrible haboob (sandstorm) moves through the area. To keep the babies calm she tells them the stories of how she came to America and everything that has happened to her since. Young readers will enjoy the story that is full of adventure and they will learn a bit of history too, as many of us were never taught that the U.S. government used camels at that time. Review from e-galley.

Kathi Appelt brings new joy to an old story, animals finding their way home. "Once Upon a Camel" brings Scheherazade to life in the form of an aging camel who suddenly finds herself as the guardian to two rambunctious Kestrels in a desert windstorm. Shared stories intended to pacify the "kids" are a portal of imagination, recollections of different times and lives.

Classic story telling with so many teachable moments. You could spend days reading and exploring the world through the stories and the lands and adventures our heroine travels in her memory.

This book can create a wonderful classroom discussion in so many subject areas. I can't wait to see what our teachers come up with.