''The Garbage King'' is a 2003 children's fiction book written by Elizabeth Laird and illustrated by Yosef Kebede. Laird was inspired to write the book after living and working in

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

, where, in

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...

, she saw children who lived on the streets who had inspiring abilities to cope with difficult living conditions. It has received numerous British book awards.

Plot summary

It tells the story of Mamo and Dani. Mamo is from a very poor family where everyone has died except for him and his sister, Tiggist. Mamo goes with a man who claims to be his Uncle Merga but is in fact probably one of his deceased mother's lovers. Before Mamo can realize it, "Merga" takes Mamo far from the city and anything he's ever known and sells him to a farmer as a slave. Dani comes from a rich and privileged family in Addis Ababa. His father, however, wants him to send him away to

Jigjiga Jijiga (, am, ጅጅጋ, ''Jijiga'') is the capital city of Somali Region, Ethiopia. It became the capital of the Somali Region in 1995 after it was moved from Gode. Located in the Fafan Zone with 70 km (37 mi) west of the border ...

to make him learn something useful and toughen up. Dani's mother is sick and flew to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, to receive better medical care. Dani runs away to escape his father. At the same time, Mamo escapes from the farmer after attempting suicide caused by physical abuse and hitch-hikes back together join a gang of beggar street boys. The members of this gang are using nicknames because they do not know their actual names, or have forgotten them. Their nicknames are Million (The ''Joviro'' or gangmaster), Shoes, Getachew, Buffalo and Karate. Karate has a bad sickness that usually makes him go into coughing fits. Later on in the book, Karate passes away from his sickness.

Awards

The novel has won numerous awards, including the Scottish Arts Council Children's Book of the Year Award. It even won the Stockport Schools Book Award, and was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal, the

Blue Peter Book Awards The Blue Peter Book Awards were a set of literary awards for children's books conferred by the BBC television programme '' Blue Peter''. They were inaugurated in 2000 for books published in 1999. The Awards have been managed by reading charity, ...

, the Salford Children's Book Award, the Calderdale Children's Book Award, the Lincolnshire Young People's Book Award, the Stockton Children's Book of the Year, the West Sussex Children's Book Award, the Portsmouth Book Award and the Sheffield Children's Book Award. .

External links

The Garbage King at Elizabeth Laird's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garbage King 2003 British novels Novels set in Ethiopia Children's books set in Ethiopia British children's novels 2003 children's books