by Jan Reynolds (Author), Jan Reynolds (Illustrator)
A photographic essay about contemporary Maasai--the changes in lifestyle, land, and farming practices they face and how they are adapting to those changes.
Nobody can say he is settled
anywhere forever;
it is only the mountains
which do not move from their places.
So goes a Maasai proverb, and so goes the lives of the Maasai in Africa. For hundreds of years they have moved with their herds of cattle and goats across thousands of miles in Kenya and Tanzania.
Today the Maasai face new challenges. Their traditional way of life is threatened, lands are overgrazed, and wildlife is in danger. Maasai tribes are meeting these obstacles head-on-adapting their lives and agricultural practices while keeping their vibrant, close-knit culture alive.
Award-winning author-photographer Jan Reynolds presents a striking glimpse of these dynamic people. Only the Mountains Do Not Move shows one Maasai tribe's remarkable ability to forge a delicate balance between the richness of the past and the needs of the future.
Author Biography
Jan Reynolds is an award-winning author and photographer whose work has appeared in numerous publications, including National Geographic, The New York Times, and Outside magazine. All seven books in her Vanishing Cultures series of photo-essays for children were recognized as Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People, and she is also the author of Celebrate! Connections Among Cultures; Only the Mountains Do Not Move, and The Lion Queens of India. Reynolds holds the world record for women's high altitude skiing, was part of the first expedition to circumnavigate Mount Everest, and performed a solo crossing of the Himalayas. She lives with her family in Stowe, Vermont. Please visit her on the web at janreynolds.com.