"Mollel's elegant telling is lucid and tender, giving the story's familiar outline unusual appeal. Morin provides luminous paintings that capture the rich gold of slanting sunlight and the shadowed blues of night with uncommon drama and beauty... Outstanding."
— Kirkus Review

     "It is a delight to see the book re-issued by Fitzhenry & Whiteside in what is, if anything, a bigger and better version of the same wonderful book. . . The heavily textured and intricate illustrations in The Orphan Boy are a delight. . .
     "There is much about the book that cannot better be described than with the word, "beautiful." Morin captures the beauty of traditional African dress and, although written in prose, Mollel's writing has a beautifully poetic, lyrical quality to it. The writing is descriptive and engaging. The sentences are generally short and direct, yet Mollel is able to say a lot with relatively few words. . .
     "Morin's use of light and shadows, as well as the texture of the artwork, adds depth to the illustrations. The illustrations alternate between depictions of the cool of night (with the heavy use of dark blues) and the stifling heat of the day (featuring dry, dusty yellows). This artistic use of such elements as light, colour and texture, make the artwork for this book timeless. Morin's artwork here is of the very highest order. . .
     "The Orphan Boy is a treat to the senses and has wide appeal. Children and their parents will be spellbound by Mollel and Morin's work.
Highly Recommended"
— CM Magazine

"In 1990, The Orphan Boy won the Governor-General's Award for Illustration, and the book won several other awards in the following two years. Almost 20 years on, The Orphan Boy has been reissued with, as the publisher's blurb announces, a brand-new cover, eight additional pages and nine "breath-taking" new paintings. This is a case in which, for once, there is truth to the apparent hyperbole: more is more in this case, and it's more, especially, of Paul Morel's superb paintings."
— The Globe and Mail

"Now available in a beautiful new edition. . . An enthralling folktale that respects and honors the traditions of the Maasai people, The Orphan Boy, is highly recommended, especially for children's public library collections."
— The Midwest Book Review

Paul Morin
is an artist, musician, photographer, and filmmaker who has illustrated over dozen picture books, including The Ghost Dance, and Animal Dreaming. With the debut of The Orphan Boy in 1990, Morin's art was met with overwhelming praise for his gorgeous oil paintings containing grit, sand, and twigs from the African landscape. Paul has received many accolades for his work, including a nomination for the Kate Greenaway Medal and two Society of Illustrators' awards.

International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) Honour Book Award for Illustration

American Library Association Notable Book Award, 1991

The Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award

Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Picture Book Award for Illustration