When the Zeitz MOCAA does a book launch, it a big deal, and an all day event. I was thrilled to be invited to their recent launch of The Stories that Ran Away (Volume 2):

Each artist had the opportunity to talk to us about their art and their book… followed by an afternoon of glorious drama…

Interesting questions about interesting artworks, and how we can get these books into communities. How the book can reach the children that the stories were created for!!!

This exhibition is in the basement, and well worth a visit to the Zeitz on a wintry day. Detailed close up artworks by each of the artists…

Fun activities for young artists to enjoy…

A really interesting exhibition, with art and sculptures to look at…

As well as artworks by local school children…

Artworks on the wall to actually engage with.

These books are all available for sale, either as a complete collection or individually, along with some adorable merchandise, in the Zeitz MOCAA art shop.

I was just thinking that I haven’t read a lot of books lately and then had a look at my listening history for the last couple of weeks, and I have been reading, quite a lot actually. Between Audible books and the Libby app, I constantly have a book playing.

The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai. This is one of those books that is just a story – of a life well lived. This book literally felt like you had stepped through the hedge and become a fly on the neighbours wall as you watched Sonia and Sunny grow up together and apart and together and … It was just a ride alongside them, very poetical, very tough and just a beautiful read. Well worth all the acclaim.

Small Fry by Lisa Brennan-Jobs. The biography of Lisa, daughter of Steve Jobs, who grew up in the Silicon Valley in the70/80s. An arty/creative mom and no need to describe her dad, this is a very moving memoir. She longed for someone to fill the gap in her life, her parents never quite did, and she turned out to be feisty and scrappy, funny and warm. This is a good read, about crazy parents whose kids survive, despite them.

The Instrumentalist by Harriet Constable. A historical novel set at the height of Venetian Artiness. When orphans were abandoned on the church steps and Venice had a world renowned conductor and music school. This is behind the scenes on the life of Anna Maria, or one of the many Anna Maria’s, who rose to fame despite her lowly beginnings, are quest to be the best, no matter who or what stood in the way. Ultimately the cost of her ambition and the betrayal of those around her. It’s outrageous, it’s gritty and to be honest, none of the characters are very likeable.

The Body Keeps Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk. So many friends recommended that I read that I read this book, so not one to back away from a challenge, I dived in. This book may well unpack you, you will learn things that you might not want to know about yourself and you will learn things about the people around you too… a very compassionate author, a very thought provoking book, not only does he question the establishment but he looks for and provides solutions too. This is an excellent read. It explains a lot about trauma, how we deal with it, or don’t deal with it, and how to live alongside it… excellent read.

Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping by Jessie Sutanto. This is the second in the series, an amusing energetic and elderly character takes on the world, her heart is feisty. Just a great fun read. I love Vera Wong, easy reading, cosy crime at it’s understated best.

The Names by Florence Knapp. I listened to this because of the hype… and my goodness, this book has earned the acclaim. It is excellent. A child receives three different names. The story is told by and retold by all the characters… it is about growing up and heartbreak, family ties and family knots. There are moments of pure joy and many more of deep sadness. This is beautifully written and will have you pressing pause on your life, so that the story can play on. Trigger warning for domestic abuse.

The Barbecue at No. 9 by Jennie Godfrey. I absolutely loved her previous book, The List of Suspicious Things. For those of you who grew up in the 80 and 90’s her books are a MUST read. When the Gordon’s decide to host a barbecue to watch the LIVE AID concert, they had no idea that all the neighbours secrets would come spilling out in the lead up, let alone all of theirs on the day. A great read about those times when you think all is hopeless, and if folk would just speak to each other, it would all turn out okay.

What’s Your Dream? By Simon Squibb. I heard about this book on a podcast, and had to listen to it. This is very easy listening, and if you are looking for inspiration to get moving on a project you have put to the side, then this book is a practical guide to get you moving.

The Mysterious Affair of Judith Potts by Robert Thorogood. If you enjoyed The Thursday Murder Club, then you will absolutely love this series. Judith Potts lives on the Thames River and is partial to a morning dip (already she appeals to me). Mysteries and Murder seem to land on her doorstep and she and her collection of besties gather together to solve them. Funny, charming, and extremely readable.

The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella. I love a good Kinsella weekend read, and this one didn’t disappoint. When Samantha Sweeting, a high powered London Lawyer, literally runs away from her job and finds herself working as a housemaid in the English Countryside, even though she can hardly make a cup of tea, let alone toast. The flyaway pieces of her life start to fit back together, all while she is learning how to bake a fresh loaf of bread. Funny, light and enjoyable, just as you would expect.

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. I LOVED this book, the audible is excellent, but you have to look at the “book book” it is written in letter form, as we get to know the protagonist Sybil Van Antwerp, through her daily letter writing. In an era when letter writing was the norm, Sybil made it a practice and still writes a letter each morning. This story is funny and witty, but there is an underlying sadness and Sybil will have to face something that she has put off for years and years. There is a genuine and heart warming apology from an older mom, to her grown daughter. This book will always hold a place in my heart.

Theo of Golden by Allen Levi. This one also comes with loads of “best book ever” stamps of approval from every corner of the reading world, and yet I have found it really really long. Theo is an elderly man that arrives tin the small town of Golden and does several good deeds for the local townsfolk, one by one, and mostly anonymously. There is a lot of mystery surrounding Theo, he is a likeable enough character and hopefully his secrets and the reason behind his generous spirit will eventually emerge!!! Still listening…

1. Tell us About the Book:

There are great stories of good and bad management of lions throughout Africa, the point of this book is to highlight the good. Read the book: there are lot of good news stories, in Chad and South Sudan, for example. Each chapter in this book is written by a different expert author, telling their own story, from their perspective. With Lions in particular, South Africa, is bipolar. We are the best and the worst at lion management. The good is that we have re-wilded close on a million hectares of land. The bad is that it all needs to be managed, because there are no connections between the islands of land and there are no corridors for the animals to commute.

2. Tell us How this book Came About: 
I guess for me, everything started when I witnessed an extinction. And when you witness an extinction, it shakes you rigid, and you feel you’ve got to do something about it. The extinction I watched, was the extinction of free running rhino in Botswana, and there was a period of intense rhino poaching throughout Africa. The rhino numbers in 1978 were about 65,000 total. Ten years later by 1987, there were 4,000. And by 1993, when the moratorium came through, there were only 2 500 rhinos throughout Africa.
3. Could you Describe an Extinction in the Wild?

“When I started in tourism in 1977, there were rhinos everywhere, it was easy to find a crash of rhinos on tour. We started to see the decline, instead of seeing a big crash, we would see two or three rhinos, which were a bit skittish. And then there was a day in 1986, where I saw not one rhino.” It was at that point that we realised what an environment is without a key species. A guest would say, “We’ve seen all the lions, leopards, why aren’t there any rhinos?” And then I would have to tell them that rhinos were now extinct.



Stepping back into our previous book: The Last Elephants. On my first trip to the Serengeti, we didn’t see a single elephant. The poaching throughout Africa at the time was horrendous. I made a conscious decision, right then and there, that I would do my best to solve that extinction. The problem in the elephant world, the people in West Africa don’t talk to people in Central Africa, and so on, we all live in silence. The elephant book came about and that was a massive success.
4. What do you think is a Problem that Lions Are Facing in South Africa?


The biggest problem we have is that while we have good examples of natural wildlife, we also have the canned lion breeding industry. At one stage, we had 12,000 lions in cages in South Africa. I guess the biggest single thing, this whole issue is that there are certain blocks in Southern Africa which are very much pro-utilisation of a species. And under the guise that we’re gonna go use the body parts of an endangered species to save the species. The proceeds will go to conservation. But economics has proven time and time again you can never supply enough for the market. These folks make a huge amount of money out of trading the body parts of endangered species.



5. Can you briefly tell us about the Caged Lion Industry?

It’s a whole money spinning racket. It’s marketed as sustainable, but once a lion has been in close contact with human beings, you can never re-wild it. There is no conservation value, for breeding wildlife in captivity. We have this whole industry, it a massive industry, where a few people, make a huge amount of money. They try and testify that they are using wildlife sustainably. But the ultimate game is to try and make money out of every single phase:

• The First Step in the Money Chain: Is to get volunteers from overseas, to come to South Africa and volunteer to save lions. Each volunteer pays something like $1,000 a day, to save lions, these facilities, are making something like a million rand a month, just from volunteers. The volunteers are charged with a lion cub, they have to feed them with bottles, and care for them.
• The Second Step in the Money Chain: Inviting tourists to pet the baby lions for a fee. When the cubs get too big for petting, they invite tourists to walk with lions. Tourists are prepared to pay a lot of money for the experience.
• The Third Step in the Money Chain: When the lions are too big to walk with they become bait for trophy hunters. Thousands of lions have been born and raised specifically to be hunted. The argument is that they are protecting wild lions from being hunted… thousands of lions raised to be hunted.
• The Fourth and Final Step in the Money Chain: After the shooting tragedy, they get to make more money from selling the pelt and bones. This all under the banner of “sustainably using the animal”

As soon as the cubs are born, the females fall pregnant and the “Sustainable Cycle” begins again.




6. Tell us about the process of the book. How did you put 500 stunning pages together? What was the Plan?
We had to map out where we had to work, to find the best scientists for all of the different aspects. And then we had to persuade them to write. Don’s job, and he is a brilliant editor, was to translate their somewhat scientific documents into readable English. And my job was to source the photographs. We must have received a million photographs and we had to filter and keep all the “must use” photographs, which was a lot easier than creating a discard pile. All the lions have their distinct regional differences. We had to make sure that we had got photographs from each of those regions. Otherwise, the book would have no credibility. To get photographs from some of these regions was a really difficult job.


7. What was the best part of the Whole Book Process? And What was a Difficulty you e
   Experienced?


The best part obviously, getting it out. One problem was finding the balance between the harsh realities of the lion story, and the positive conservation successes. First of all, getting the publishers to want to do it is huge. Once we got it together and we’d done the design, we handed it over, they put their team of fine tuners onto it and they were very good. And then the Smithsonian sent their fact checkers. The problem is, is that a scientist makes a claim, and the fact checker might have used AI to find the answer. And then there would be this clash between what the scientist, on the ground said, and what somebody in the State’s said. And you now you have to mediate between the two. You have to be sure that every single fact is indeed a fact, and not just an opinion.

8. Are you a Disciplined Writer, or do you Write when Inspiration Hits?

Remember we both have normal lives, and we write our books on the side. So a lot of my work happened late at night, pushing into the night. 


9. When you aren’t Creating Books, What Do you Do? What is your Normal life?

I run a safari/conservation business. Mostly conservation, but we always need funding, so we created a tourism business that does conservation.

10. What is the Purpose of this Book?

The idea of the book is that we raise awareness, through the story, through the photographs and through sharing it on. The hours and hours we spent working on it can never be repaid, and we will never recoup our costs. This is a labour of love. Our book is not raising funds at all, it is actually our contribution to life, to society. The reality is that we are facing a lion extinction, it will happen rapidly overnight, and we need to do something about it urgently. 


1. Is The Last Lions your first book?

It is actually my 16th book, but part of a broader series of large, collaborative conservation books. Our previous book on The Last Elephants came about when Colin and I got together over a coffee at a conference where a large survey on the status of elephants was presented, we were shocked at the results and the narrative to catch with the results, so that they could share the science with a much greater audience. The Last Lions project follows in the tradition: big, complex, and purpose-driven, bringing the story behind the science to life, using good journalism and excellent photography.

2. What Inspired you to Create a Book specifically about Lions?

Once we had finished the great work of our Elephant book we had decided again… but the statistics spoke to us: we heard that there were only about 24,000 lions left in the wild. That number was alarming and we felt a responsibility to act. We began contacting lion specialists all over Africa.

3. Why did you call it the Last Lions?

We needed the shock factor, we estimated that the elephant population crashed from 3 million to 450,000… but the lion has population dropped to 24,000. We are on track for extinction. And the public need to be aware of that, this book is their cry for help.



4. What Do You Think is the Biggest Problem that Lions Face?

Particularly in South Africa, our major game parks are doing well and they are reporting conservation success stories, but the infrastructure behind the smaller provincial parks has collapsed, not to mention poaching leaving islands of lions. the problem with the distinct islands of lions is that there is no genetic flow. In times gone by, there were natural corridors between lion prides and they were free to roam. In order for lions to continue to thrive, we would need to create corridors for them… and that would be expensive.

5. What was the Process of Putting Together the Lion Book?

We gathered together scientist, eco-tourism guides, all sorts of specialists. And then hassled them to write their stories, persisting with them and rewriting. It is an interesting process, some of the contributors take two weeks to return an article and others take two years, and all of them would rather be out in the field, getting their work done. There is a lot of to- and fro-ing between contributors and the writers. We also wanted to create a book that had the same feel as the ElephantXXXXX and chose our design accordingly. I did most of the writing and editing of the documents submitted by experts and Colin gathered photographs from top photographers, where ever there were lions.

6. What Was the Hardest Part About Putting this Book Together?

Our contributors are field researchers, and would rather be doing their own work, they don’t naturally like to sit at computers, and often don’t have the necessary technology required. We are living in a critical time, when scientists need to communicate their research with people at large. As the editor, I had two goals with this book: One was to be completely clear, in the writing, so that anybody could pick it up, so tidying up the science all the way and the second thing is to make sure that anybody, any layman, would find it readable. 
That meant taking out a lot of numbers, people get stuck on numbers. I am lousy at numbers and assume that most of our readers are too. Replacing equations with words for easier reading and generally turning the science into a narrative.



7. What is the Best Part of Putting Together a Book Like This?

It’s when it lands on your desk. They send you a box all wrapped up, and you cut the straps off, and you take the paper, the tape off, and there’s the book. It’s just very exciting. Because then, you know, then you’ve got a product, an item. You’ve got something to share. Until then, it’s all been inside a computer, it’s in the air, it’s inside the space. To have a real book is still a good thing. It feels good. Nice. And, you know, what’s also nice, when people get back to you, and say it really changed the way they thought.

8. Are you a Disciplined Writer, or Do you Write When Inspiration Hits?

I’m very disciplined. I write fast because I’m a journalist. I don’t write on a whim, I write to a deadline. There is a time of day when I start writing, and I stop writing at 12 o’clock. That’s it. Nothing creative after 12 o’clock. So I have to be very disciplined, because I write a lot. I mean, this book was done while I did my day job of writing as a job, I wrote it on the side. It’s a lot!




9. If you Weren’t a Writer, What Would you Do?


I’d be a biologist. I did the wrong degree, in a way. I’ve got a PhD in political science. And I’ve got a masters in criminology. There’s a certain point in my life when I discovered that all I had studies was one species, humans. It is a shock. I was actually doing a wilderness leadership trail and I woke up one morning and went, “I know nothing about what’s around me. Nothing. I know, I know it’s here, I can see it, but I know nothing.” So, I actually transitioned. I was working for getaway at the time. I convinced the editor that I could write an environmental column, knowing nothing about the environment. I forced myself, once a month, to study hugely in some topic of the environment. And wrote a column for 300,000 intelligent readers.

10. Tell us About Your Heroes, the Contributors.

My heroes are biologists. They are these amazing people that have an innate knowledge of what’s around them. It’s more than knowledge. It’s entrancement. Endorsement with the world. 
That is what’s the quality of a good scientist, but particularly in the biological field. They’re not just interested, they’re not just knowledgable. They trust. It’s beyond a natural curiosity, it’s deeper than that. What I found when I was writing is that it’s so easy to talk to them, because I just get them going on their subjects, then hold the recorder, and they just go. I don’t have to do any work. You don’t have to push. And they are so amazed that somebody who’s not in their field is interested in their fields. They’re the easiest people to talk to, because they’re entranced. 


So many children, and their adults, enjoy collecting facts. This book stack is full of them. In fact, from a really early age, word books are fun. And picture book biographies are one of my favoutire genre’s of books. The bbook at the bottom of the pile, is there becaue it is the biggest book, it is packed with page after page of fascinating facts. Enjoy…

This is a delightful board book, packed with interesting illustrations for the younger set. A great bounce through the zoo, playtime, onto a farmyard, the beach, a closet, the supermarket, the market, the park and the weather.

These books were given to us for review purposes by Jonathan Ball Publishers. This is not a sponsored post and opinions expressed are entirely our own.

Cape Town Swim and I Am Water are collaborating again and I am so excited to be a part of it. The swimmers typically swim great distances and the I Am Water coaches teach about what is under the sea, and so together we have called our collaboration from Distance to Depth.

I Am Water is an organisation that provides local children with an ocean experience, that they otherwise would not have. The classes of children get to experience rocky shores, sandy beaches and tidal pools for the first time. They learn about conservation, stewardship and ultimately leadership. The highlight of their experience is a snorkelling experience where the kids get to explore the incredible kelp forests of False Bay.

As a swim team of swimmers that love the ocean and would love others to love it as much as we do, we are so excited to be raising funds to send a local class of school children on a two day workshop. Not only are we raising funds but we had the most fun…

Our first in a series of Workshops: On Saturday morning, as a team, we worked together with the course coaches to get even more water confident and swimming proficient than they already were. So many happy swimmers in the water!!!

You can read more about the project here, and you can support and encourage the swimmers by:

1. Joining in by swimming your distance (in the ocean or pool) and donating to the campaign.
2. Share the donation link with friends and family.
3. Pledge R10 for every km swum.








If you would like to support our project and help us to raise funds, then follow the link to our GivenGain site. Or use the QR code below.


]]> https://www.se7en.org.za/2026/03/10/cape-town-swim-and-i-am-water-collaboration-distance-to-depth/feed 0 https://www.se7en.org.za/2026/03/03/locally-lekker-teen-reads-from-lapa-publishers https://www.se7en.org.za/2026/03/03/locally-lekker-teen-reads-from-lapa-publishers#respond Tue, 03 Mar 2026 12:24:12 +0000 https://www.se7en.org.za/?p=18263 This week’s book stack is a pile of locally written teen reads… I love how the authors incorporate the South African personality, and culture. There…]]>

This week’s book stack is a pile of locally written teen reads… I love how the authors incorporate the South African personality, and culture. There is loads of very relatable moments between the pages of these books. I really enjoyed this selection… from heart wrenching, to somewhat sinister… there is something for everyone here.



All of these books are available in English and Afrikaans. This is a great oppertunity for students that “have to” read Afrikaans books for school to enjoy the drama of Afrikaans literature (even translated into English), in their own language. Afrikaans teen novelists have not bought into the Disney happy ending that English speaking writers seem to have, so there is always pain, there are miscommunications and misery, and just a little hope to keep you going.




Bravo! Charlie


by Jacolet Vanden Berg

This is an Afrikaans teen read, and superb. Charlie Flets is an ordinary 17 year old high schooler in a small South Africa Town. Charlie is a high school track star, he has an older sister, a mom who is a hairdresser and his dad is a pilot. His dad happens to bring the stress to the book, because he is trapped in South Sudan throughout the story. Charlie tries to keep his school work on track and his training consistent but the stress of the bullying his best friend is getting, not to mention his father, is enormous. Lot’s of difficult topics are raised and addressed in this book, not to mention Charlie’s beloved dog goes missing… Charlie has a difficult time and works hard to stay true to the high standards that he has set for himself. I loved this book and the nostalgic vibe, reminded me very much of my own high school days. Another excellent read from Lapa Uitgewers.




Breathe


by Jan Vermeulen
An excellent, local teen read from Jan Vermeulen..

This is the story of Barries Barnard, who hates his father with a vengeance, since his father abandoned him as a small child. Barries life is unraveling faster than you can say “drug dealer,” and after a night of extremely wild revelling, the policeman who arrests him and sends him away to the Eastern Cape, to stay with his father, before he can get into any worse trouble. Not realising that Barries has rat poison in his bag, for the father he hates. This is an excellent read, and very much a case of “better the devil you know,” when he starts to get to know his father a little better, things start to change for Barries… not necessarily for the better. This is very a much a case of possibly too little too late. Excellent teen read, 100% recommend, especially since it tackles a variety of difficult topics that our teens are facing.




The 13th Day of Chengdu


written by De Wet Hugo
illustrated by Luan Serfontein
This is the story of Hugo, who moves the the city of Chengdu with his mom. This book is for younger teens, and a really enjoyable read. There is a lot of adjusting and getting used to when you travel the world to live in a completely different part of the world. Hugo, is pretty nervous about all the new things he has to figure out on a daily basis, and on top of that he is also extremely superstitious. The elevator in his apartment block keeps stopping on floor 13, this is extremely challenging, especially since it appears that something sinister might have happened on floor 13. This is a mystery that needs to be solved, while Hugo is adjusting to a wildly different world. Enjoyed this suspenseful read.



Slaying in Sedgefield


written by Sally Partridge

This is a teen/young adult thriller from the local author that introduced this “tense local genre” in her previous book, the Witches of Hogsback. The main protagonists, from the first book are reunited as they meet up on a teen getaway on a private island Sedgefield. Right from the start, things don’t align well, there is pettiness and infighting, squabbling and cliques. Zelda is somewhat unsettled, to say the least… then there communications are cut-off, and a raging wildfire means that they can’t return to the mainland. And while Zelda and her best friend, Song, are trying to figure out how to survive, bodies start piling up… there is a killer on the island and nobody can be trusted. There are a lot of characters iin this book, all completely unique, and none of them last long… yikes. This is tense reading, at its best. Perfect for teens who think “reading is boring,” but have to read a book for school… it is short and sharp, and anything but boring!!!


All of these books are available in English and Afrikaans and were given to us for review purposes by Lapa Publishers. This is not a sponsored post and opinions expressed are entirely our own.
]]> https://www.se7en.org.za/2026/03/03/locally-lekker-teen-reads-from-lapa-publishers/feed 0 https://www.se7en.org.za/2026/02/09/a-massive-middle-grade-book-stack-for-you https://www.se7en.org.za/2026/02/09/a-massive-middle-grade-book-stack-for-you#respond Mon, 09 Feb 2026 12:49:15 +0000 https://www.se7en.org.za/?p=18259 It’s time to celebrate the latest and greatest middle grade reads… I have a massive of book stack, packed with adventures and great reads for…]]>

It’s time to celebrate the latest and greatest middle grade reads… I have a massive of book stack, packed with adventures and great reads for all chapter book lovers.




Adventure Stories



Isaac Turner investigates – The Series.



written by Sam Sedgman
illustrated by David Dean
This is the sequel to The Clockwork Conspiracy, and the kid in me would love this series… hello, there are maps!!! I had to catch up and quickly read Book 1, but actually you can read them both independently and they are excellent reads for curious mystery lovers and middle grade adventure seekers. I love that these books assume the reader is ready to solve tricky problems, there is no dumbing the reader down at all.

Book 1: In The Clockwork Conspiracy we are introduced to Isaac Turner, a young man with a very inventive mind. His father is the chief horologist that looks after Big Ben. On the night the clocks turn back Isaac’s father disappears, and so begins an adventure through the landmarks of London. Chasing down cryptic clues, and racing against time itself, this is an excellent read.



Book 2: The Forbidden Atlas introduces a new adventure, this time in the streets and catacombs of Paris. Isaac and his friend Hattie, are attending an extravaganza to celebrate their achievement in saving “time.” Only during the event there is what looks like an “attempted assassination,” but Isaac and Hattie quickly realise this is something else, and there is another mystery at play. Again, the race against time… tracking down clues and long buried secrets.

Book 3: The Galileo Heist – I just spotted this one, and it has gone straight onto my wishlist.




Murder at Wintertide


written by Fleur Hitchcock
A proper crime novel for kids… I loved this book!!! George and his family have traveled to a small seaside town to celebrate a wintry Christmas… the weather is dreadful and there are a lot of strange happenings. Firstly, a body washes up on the beach… secondly, what are the strange lights spotted on the cliff tops. George and his cousin Isla, are determined to find out what is going on… but the closer they get to the truth, the more danger they find themselves in. This is an unputdownable, exciting read for adventurous young crime readers. Look out for more Fleur Hitchcock, her mystery books are fantastic!!!




The Helmersbruk Manor: A Christmas Mystery


written by Eva Frantz
illustrated by Elin Sandström
This is a great family read-aloud book, can be read anytime, but sweet in the twelve days (twelve chapters) leading up to Christmas. Flora Winter arrives in a small town, to stay in the cottage of a country manor, over Christmas. Flora and her mum have recently lost her father and together they are hoping that the countryside might ease their pain. Her mum vanishes into her writing and Flora herself is left to her own devices… there is a mysterious boy in a green cap, there are Christmas ornaments that appear magically… there is a mystery that resolves on Christmas Eve, there is a a supernatural mysterious slant, and somewhat compelling to read on… I say it’s a great family read, I wasn’t sure what age group it was aimed at, but it there is a little something for everyone… and a sweet resolution… so a good read if you are looking for something different just before the holidays.

Animal Stories




Cobweb



written by Michael Morpurgo
illustrated by Michael Foreman
You cannot beat Michael Morpurgo for beautiful books written about animals, packed with history and suitable for family reading. This is a story of bravery and kindness, about Cobweb, a pup who is the runt of the litter and of no value on a remote, coastal farm… Bethan who is grieving a serious loss after serious loss, has raised the pup and won over her Pa. But then her father comes home with a “dreadful step mother,” who sells Cobweb to the local drover. Cobweb is new at droving, together he and an older more experienced dog, take the local livestock across trails and trials, to a distant town. Weeks later the dogs must return home unattended… until a French Drummer Boy, who has escaped to the English countryside after the Battle of Waterloo, joins the dog-duo, and together the adventure their way home across the countryside and back to the safety of Bethan. This is a lovely story, beautifully written – any young animal lover will thoroughly enjoy it, and a fantastic family read-a-loud for kids of all ages!!!



Finding Bear


written by Hannah Gold
illustrated by Levi Pinfold.
Hannah Gold is an author who has captured the heart and soul of environmental writing for children. Finding Bear follows on from The Last Bear. Her books cover topics that are newsworthy and tragic, but in a gentle way, filled with gentleness, hope and optimism. I love the illustrations beautiful snow-filled illustrations are scattered throughout, just enough to keep the beginner-chapter book reading engaged.

In The Last Bear, April travels to the Arctic with her scientist father, they stay on Bear Island, where there are no more Polar Bears. Except all is not entirely lost because in her wanderings April discovers a Bear, and they have a truly wonderful bond. A wild adventure, this is exciting reading, bringing comfort and hope.

In Finding Bear, April and her father have returned to the mainland, but April and Bear seem to still be able to communicate. When April hears a Bear cry out in the night, and then reads that a bear has been shot in the Arctic, she must return to see that her Bear is safe. A wild storm and getting separated from her expedition and Bear discovers more than her friend, there is a little bear that needs to be taken care of and re-wilded.

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How to Train Your Dragon School


written and illustrated by Cressida Cowell.
I have loved the entire How to Train Your Dragon Series with my kids, it was bedtime reading for years on end!!! This is a spin-off from the series and it is fantastic, richly packed with with Cressida Cowell’s incredible illustrations. This book is about our poor friend Hiccup, and his dragons: Toothless and Wind Walker… Hiccup may be destined to be a Viking Hero one day… but he will never be top of the class. His failure is simple and complete, time after time his inability to succeed, for so many complicated reasons… will leave you turning the pages at high speed, hoping against all hope that he eventually will succeeds. There is everything to love here: hilarity, compassion, kindness and deep understand of a future Viking Hero trying to survive the school system (and associated bullies)… this is a heroic and relatable tale on so many levels!!!

Not to mention, it includes a dragonese dictionary!!!




The Mizzy Mysteries: A skeleton in the Closet


written by Claire Hatcher-Smith
illustrated by Yaroslava Apollonova and Lester Magoogan
What a great introduction to Mizzy. This is a murder mystery for beginner-chapter-book readers… it’s a proper story for kids heading into their own reading journey. This is also my first super-positive read about a heroine with down-syndrome, not to mention a terrible fear of escalators. Mizzy is determined to find out what happened to her great aunt, and the entire family keeps playing it down. “Mizzy leave it be, Mizzy you don’t understand…” But Mizzy really does, and when she finds her great aunt’s diaries hidden away… well. She sets up a “Family Tree Project for School” and interviews every family member. Top tip for all her relatives, don’t ever underestimate Mizzy!!! There is nothing gruesome in this book, despite the theme, just good, honest detective work. Honestly, this book is a triumph, fantastic, exciting reading… Mizzy is a gutsy, determined young detective… watch out for more of her.



Nancy Drew Diaries: The Blue Ladies of Coffin Hall


Pure comfort reading, and loads of school holidays spent reading ALL the Nancy Drews again and again… so somewhat of a nostalgic read for me. Ned is looking into the local legend about library ghost, when strange things start to happen in the library. There is a fire, while Ned is in the library and he is accused of arson… Nancy not only needs to set the record straight but she needs to figure out the truth behind the library ghost.



Hardy Boys Adventure Series


Franklin W. Dixon
I have to say that while Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys were definitely great childhood book reads for me, they have slipped into the “nostalgia and collector” series category. That being said, the revised and updated versions, like the Hardy Boys Clues are great reads for beginner chapter book readers, they are fun and interesting and a great stepping stone into middle grade chapter books.

Mystery on the Mayhem Express: The Hardy boys and their friends are on an immersive “murder mystery” train journey, and it turns out the acting isn’t great, murder isn’t that mysterious and actually it is not quite the experience they were after… until things really start to go wrong. The acting hasn’t improved, but the game has gone from pathetic to deadly quite quickly, and luckily the Hardy Boys are there to figure things out.




Hardy Boys Clue Books


written by Franklin W. Dixon
illustrated by Santy Gutiérrez
These are easy readers, modern versions of the Hardy Boys, written for the younger set, with somewhat wholesome themes. These are sweet “mystery” stories and filled with illustrations, perfect for beginner chapter book readers. There are loads of books in this series and if your child likes one… then they will like them all!!!
The Garden Plot: The local science centre has a eco-friendly competition, edible garden competition. Frank and Joe, have been hard at work turning their lawn into a vegetable garden… only to discover that the better their garden grows the more it is under attack. And the attack it turns out is not so much hungry critters, but rather someone in the competition.
The Bad Lucky Skate: The local ice-hockey team is under attack, what appears to be bad luck again and again is actually sabotage, and Joe and Frank are determined to find out who is interfering with their team.



The Baxter Family Children Series


written by Karen Kingsbury and Tyler Russel
Gentle story telling at its best, about a christian family of five children: Brooke, Kari, Ashley, Erin, and Luke. Just your regular family, with kids doing their best, it is packed with mischief and anecdotes that make you feel like you could be there. These are sweet stories and if you are looking for kind and wholesome, easy bedtime reading… then this series is a great place to start.

Book 1: In Best Family Ever the Baxters are introduced to us, sweet kids with gentle hearts that tend to get into trouble and up to mischief… the family is gently rolling along until they hear that they have to move to a new town.

Book 2: In Finding Home the family has relocated and as summer draws to an end and a new school year begins, everyone has their own way of trying to settle in. The oldest daughter, especially, struggles as she misses her friends and life “back home.”

Book 3: In Never Grow Up the family have settled into their new home and while they love it, there are all the typical problems that kids have to face in school… an essay on “what to do when you grow up” and a dramatic production of Peter Pan, leaves everyone wondering if they should grow up.

Book 4: In Adventure Awaits there is a science camp looming on the horizon, some of them are nervous, most of them are excited… it’s going to be great!

Book 5: In Being Baxters a character award competition at school is set to divide the siblings, until they remember what they stand for and “together forever” is actually the way they want to be.

These books were given to us for review purposes by Jonathan Ball Publishers. This is not a sponsored post and opinions expressed are entirely our own.

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