It’s the school holidays and Zac thinks he might go crazy with boredom. He’s living in exile with his disgraced father on the remote Terawhiti Station on Wellington’s wild southwest coast. Then Zac and his dad witness a boat sink during a storm. Investigating further, Zac finds a set of unusual animal prints on the beach. Whose boat is it? And what creature could have made the prints? Soon armed men are prowling the coast, and threatening Zac, his friends and his family. He must do all he can to protect the Phantom of Terawhiti from those intent on hunting it down.
Phantom of Terawhiti is an action-packed adventure story, packed with mystery, armed and angry Russians, brainless hunters, wild weather, a car chase, and a race against time. Des Hunt is a gifted storyteller who never fails to write a story that grips readers and makes you keep turning the pages to find out what happens next. In Phantom of Terawhiti there are plenty of heart-stopping moments, especially when Zac and Jess clash with the Russians. The mystery of the ‘Phantom of Terawhiti’ draws you in and, even when the creature is revealed, you wonder how it will survive in the wild with the hunters trying to track it down.
Like the main characters in his other books, Zac and Jess are just normal Kiwi kids, who happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time (or maybe the right place at the right time). Zac gets dragged by his dad to come and live on the remote Terawhiti Station, and it’s while he’s here that he discovers the wreck of the yacht and the paw prints in the sand. When they discover the Phantom of Terawhiti, Zac and Jess know that they must do everything they can to protect it.
Phantom of Terawhiti is one of Des Hunt’s best books so far and I can’t wait to see where in the country he will take us to next.
In the second of the Scrap series, Scrap starts life with a new team on the hills of Rocky Ridge Station. He’s still got a lot to learn, but at least he knows where his mum is. But to see her he has to get past Buster, the massive team leader, and the man that tried to drown him as a pup.
It’s interesting that every good story has a shape. It builds to a point towards the end of the story, everything depends on that moment and in a good story you never know quite how it is going to turn out. In this story that high point is pretty scary and you wonder if Scrap will even survive. Can you think of one moment in any story you’ve read where you’ve been so drawn in that you just have to keep turning the pages to find how it all ends?
Hey team – I thought it was time to tell you about Scrap. It’s a series about a blond sheepdog in New Zealand and the first book is about to come out. Poor Scrap is dumped as a tiny puppy before he can see or hear anything. Fortunately he’s rescued and taken to a farm where Bill, a retired heading dog starts to look after him. Scrap doesn’t know anything about being a dog and it’s up to Bill to act as his Mum and teach him about the life of a working dog. While Scrap is full of enthusiasm and has the ‘Eye’ which gives him special power over sheep, he still has a lot to learn. He’s also desperate to find his Mum. It’s a small district and Bill thinks that sooner or later he’s going to come across her. It’s a book that has some serious messages, but it’s also one of the funniest books I’ve written. I thoroughly enjoyed creating it, I hope you’ll enjoy reading it too.
I’ve got a new series coming out very soon, about a blond heading dog. It was partly inspired by this dog, Lana, who is a working sheepdog and won the National Heading Dog Champs in 2007. She’s blond, which is quite an unusual colour for a heading dog and some farmers don’t like them as they think the sheep don’t react the same to a blond dog. I wanted to write a book about a working sheepdog for a long time and her story gave me the inspiration I needed.
This book is about two boys called Hal and Roger and their dad who set out in the Amazon to look look for rare and exciting but also dangerous animals to put in the zoo they run.
From time to time they get into trouble and soon they hear that the zoo and their house burned down because of a fire. Their father has to leave so he can help with the house that means Hal and Roger are left alone to tackle some of the biggest and most dangerous species in the world…
Roger is 14 and very funny and cheeky at times but Hal, well Hal is quite different. He is serious, thoughtful, kind but sometimes he does have quite a sense of humour.
I would give these series 10/10 they are so good. I think children ages 7 or over would enjoy these books so if you’re 7 or over and you like adventure books then you’d better get reading!
This book is from the Horrible Geography series by Anita Ganeri. It is about the wild behaviour of snakes, sharks, bears, big cats and crocodiles. I like the facts and the stories of the people that got a very big shock. Did you know a man got bitten on his leg and it swelled up four times its size! I’d say its for ages 8 to 11. I rate it ten out of ten.
It’s about a gorilla called Ivan who lives in a shopping mall with an elephant called Stella, a stray dog called Bob and a man called Mack. They are a circus.
Ivan used to be a famous attraction, but after a few years he was forgotten and only the new people in town are interested in him.
Ivan doesn’t think very much about his old life in the jungle and he has accepted he will spend the rest of his life in his cage. But then a new elephant comes to live with the animals and helps Ivan realise that there is a better life out there. It is up to Ivan to find a way out for all of them.
I don’t want to give too much away, the book does have some sad bits in it, but ends happily. I’m sure you will love it just like I did!
Hi everyone! It’s wonderful to be invited along to chat to you all and I’m looking forward to sharing a bit of my writing journey with you. As you can see from the books I’ve written, it’s obvious where much of my inspiration comes from! I’m animal mad, and that includes all animals – dogs, horses, wolves, cats, I love them all, and many of them pop up in my books. I also love learning about our fascinating past so often I try to weave history into my stories as well.
This is certainly true for my latest book, The Drover’s Quest, which is set in the 1860s gold-mining era. It’s the story of a headstrong girl who disguises herself as a boy so she can join a cattle drove across the Southern Alps to find her missing gold-digger father. During this time, many cattle were driven from Christchurch to the West Coast over the newly formed Arthur’s Pass to feed the miners. Charlotte (“Charlie”) has many adventures and mishaps riding her horse and working her dog across the wild mountain pass.
This story was inspired by the horses in my life and the trekking I do for pleasure. I love riding through the bush and having fun rounding up our pet cow, Bubbles, on my horse. And horses feature largely in our pioneering past. They were the main form of transport of course, but they were also used to move vast herds of cattle and sheep across the land. In some ways, our history in the late 1800s was similar to the taming of the “Wild West” of America. Rugged pioneers, bush cowboys, gun-toting outlaws, and desperate diggers feature in our past too. In The Drover’s Quest, many of these colourful characters gallop through the pages. I hope you’ll enjoy their journey.
I love both stories about war and stories about animals, which is my I love Michael Morpurgo. Most of his stories are about war or animals and sometimes both. His latest book is called Little Manfred and it’s about war, and a dog that sparks the memories of an old man.
It’s the summer of 1966 and Charley and her little brother, Alex, are walking their dog Manfred on the beach by their home when they notice two old men staring out to sea. When the two men discover that their dog is called Manfred, this sparks the memories of Walter and he tells the children about his experiences during World War II. Through Walter’s story, Charley and Alex learn about their mother’s past and her connection to Manfred, a German prisoner of war who was posted at her farmhouse when she was a little girl.
Michael Morpurgo has woven another amazing story of friendship, bravery, and forgiveness that transported me to another time and another place. Whenever I read a Michael Morpurgo book it’s almost as if he is sitting on my couch or in the library beside me, telling me the story, because I can hear his voice in my head. If you’ve ever seen one of his videos of him reading you’ll know that he’s got the perfect storytelling voice. Michael Foreman’s illustrations, once again, perfectly match the story because they can be bright and happy or dark and gloomy. I think Michael Morpurgo’s books are perfect for anyone and if you haven’t read any of his books, Little Manfred is a great one to start with.
Recommended for 7+ 10 out of 10
If you want to know more about the story and find out what Michael Morpurgo’s inspiration was, you can read about it on the Guardian Children’s Books website.
HarperCollins NZ also have Little Manfred featured as their Book of the Week on their Facebook page. Head on over for your chance to win a copy.
This book is about Emma (Emeralda) and she is a princess. But this princess is not ordinary – she doesn’t like the boring princes her mother likes, she is very clumsy and she has a laugh like a donkey braying! Emma finds her mother annoying and thinks she doesn’t understand her. Emma has an Aunt Grisena who is a witch who does magic and she loves her very much.
Emma loves her castle, in particular the swamp where she goes to get away from her mother. When we first meet Emma she is on her way to the swamp to get away from her mother AND the yucky Prince Jorje. When she arrives she meets [you guessed it!] … a frog! Is the frog really a prince in disguise? Will a kiss solve this spell? This is a very unexpected story so fasten your seatbelt!!!
I give this book a 10 out of 10 and this is a wonderful book. It is for reading age 10 and up but I had it read to me so I was fine.
As some of you already know, I love writing about monsters and crazy, spooky things.
Well, some of the craziest, spookiest things are not imagined in books or stories. They’re real!
A great example — and a spooky creature I love — is New Zealand’s giant weta.
What a weta!
Giant weta have been around for about 190 million years, and they look like it too. The giant weta on Little Barrier Island, off the coast of New Zealand, are known as ‘devils of the night’.
Their Maori name, ‘Wetapunga’, translates to ‘god of ugly things’.
Here are some cool facts about weta:
- Giant weta are orthopteran insects of the family Anostostomatidae. They look like wingless, leggy grasshoppers, and their bodies alone can reach around 8cm in length.
- They can weigh more than 70 grams, or about three times the weight of a house mouse.
- Many giant weta are not really so giant, and smaller species such as the Nelson Alpine Weta tip the scales at a not-very-scary average of 7 grams.
- Wetas are more likely to dine on treetop leaves than small children. They’re too heavy to jump, have no wings, and are slow to get around, making vegetarian cuisine the more affordable menu option.
- In a fight, wetas are sadly ill equipped, with only their spiky back legs and devastating bad looks for defence. Some will even roll over and play dead in an attempt to trick would-be predators.
- New Zealand’s new predators — the rats, cats, stoats and hedgehogs — often find that giant wetas make a decent-sized snack. This means giant weta populations are dwindling, and where Wetapunga were once common in the north of the North Island, they are now found only on Little Barrier Island, off the coast of Auckland.
- One weta species, the Mahoenui, returned from mainland extinction when it was discovered in 1962 hiding out in some gorse bushes in the North Island; the spikes of the introduced gorse had kept hungry hunters at bay. This weta weed patch has since been declared a protected area, and more than 200 endangered weta have been relocated to Mahurangi Island, in the hope of baby wetas on the way.
Aren’t weta awesome?
I find when I am having trouble thinking of something to write about, I can find inspiration in real life and amazing science. There are always strange things happening in the real world.
Well, I don’t normally like Monday mornings much. Do you? But I’m liking this Monday, because I arrived in my office to find the drawings for my next picture book sitting in my Inbox. The book’s called Mooncow, and the amazingly beautiful illustrations are by Deidre Copeland who lives in Cromwell. Deidre has drawn the MOST BEAUTIFUL cow IN THE WORLD. At least I think so. What do YOU think? Have a look and let me know.
I like cows. Even though they’re pretty clumsy sometimes. And Icertainly DON’T like them when they walk across my creek and start trampling my vege garden! My wife, Marion, thinks cows are her favourite animals. She even likes it when they lick her hand, too. But I think that’s totally gross!! What’s YOUR favourite animal? I think mine’s a kangaroo. It would be great to be able to hop a long way and carry all your stuff in a pouch on your belly. Hmmm, but it might all start falling out if you jumped really fast. I wonder what kangaroos keep in their pouches? Maybe a mobile phone and an iPod. Any ideas what you might find in a kangaroo’s pouch … especially if it was an imaginary kangaroo.
Anyway, my story, Mooncow is about a cow called Milly who wants to be friends with the moon because she thinks they are very similar. Like Milly is big and round and pale, and so is the moon. And Milly is a bit lonely, too, just like the moon. (Or at least she imagines it must be pretty lonely floating in the sky.) So Milly tries to get the moon to like her by keeping it company, and talking to it, and even juggling cowpats to entertain the moon. And it seems to be working, too, because the moon is getting closer, and closer each night …
OK, I won’t tell you what happens. The book will be in the shops in November, I think. In the meantime, let me know what your favourite animal is, and I might just write a story about it. If I DO, I might even name it after YOU!!
In the meantime, if you’re looking for a new story to read, check out my brand new FaBo mystery story (and a couple of cool stories by this week’s winners) at www.fabostory2.blogspot.com This week the challenge is to write a thriller with a clone as the main character! Hmmm, not sure if I’d like to have a clone. Though it might be useful if I have to do something boring, then I could send my clone along instead. And ideas what you’d do if YOU had a clone? Or 10 clones??
As a writer, I’m often asked where I get the ideas for my stories. The idea for The Wolf in the Wardrobe came from our very special pet dog called Yogi.
My dog Yogi
Now Yogi is a real character. He is a long-haired German shepherd, an impressive looking boy with a shaggy coat and thick mane. Yogi loves playing with kids and near us live four boys who often hang over our fence calling out, where’s the wolf today. Can we play with the wolf? And they’re right; he really does look like a wolf!
So this got me thinking, what if Yogi was really a wolf and not a dog? Imagine the troubles that could bring! So gradually, the idea for a story unfolded of a cheeky boy called Finn who finds an injured wolf who has escaped from a circus. Finn has always wanted a dog of his own, so he decides to smuggle the wolf home and keep her hidden in his wardrobe. But not all goes according to plan. A quirky story of intrigue and adventure unfolds as Finn battles to save Lupa the wolf from the clutches of a creepy clown.
I loved writing this story. It was a lot of fun, especially the bits I wrote about Finn’s wonderful and funny Nana. I also learnt a great deal about wolves and the conservation efforts to save them in the wild. For instance, did you know that wolves now run free in Yellowstone National Park in the United States, and you can visit them there and see them if you’re lucky. I was lucky enough to go there last year just after I finished the book and met lots of amazing wolves. Many of them are rescued wolves like Lupa who now live in sanctuaries where they are safe from poachers and hunters.
When Finn comes across a car accident, little does he realize that his life is about to change forever. The huge, injured animal he discovers is no dog – but a wolf, escaped from the circus that he went to with his Dad. Finn knows that he must save the wolf, Lupa, and prevent her from returning to the circus and the sinister circus clown, Cackles, who torments her.
Finn takes her to the vet and they patch her up, but then he has to figure out how he will pay the vet bill. Where will he hide her and how will he feed her? When Finn’s Nana discovers Lupa in the wardrobe, he thinks he’ll be in big trouble, but his Nana thinks Lupa is her old dog Molly and she only wants to keep her safe. Meanwhile, Cackles the Clown is hot on their trail and will stop at nothing to get Lupa back. But Cackles doesn’t even like wolves though so why is he so determined to get her?
The Wolf in the Wardrobe is a great story about a boy who will do whatever he can to protect his animal friend. Finn gives up the things that he loves so that he can earn extra money to help Lupa and learns all that he can about wolves to help take care of her. Finn’s Nana was my favourite character, because she made me laugh and even though she would forget who Finn was sometimes, she’d help him to care for Lupa. I also liked the character of Cackles because he was so sinister and creepy. If you like books about animals or just a story with great characters, you’ll love Wolf in the Wardrobe by Susan Brocker. Recommended for 9+ 8 out of 10
Most booklovers know and adore Michael Morpurgo’s work. If you don’t, Shadow is the perfect book to get you started.
This stunning title is about a boy called Aman who is telling his story to his best friend’s grandfather at Yarl’s Wood Detention Centre, along with other Afghani refugees. This is a tale of courage, bravery, and one life-changing dog.
My favourite character was Aman’s mother because she is so incredibly brave and always believing; God is good, God will help us. She is a tremendously important character in the story.
Shadow is definitely a ‘must read’, so I would recommend it to ages 9+ because the reader would then be able to appreciate some of the situations more accurately.
This book is about a funny farm called Mudpuddle Farm. It is written by Michael Morpurgo, one of my favourite authors. On this farm are Mossop, Jigger, Peggoty, Albertine, Frederick, Diana, Aunty Grace, Primrose, Upside, Down, Penelope, Captain, Egbert and Farmer Rafftery!
This book has six wonderful adventures in it and these adventures are extremely funny. My favourite character is Mossop because he is lazy and sleeping most of the time. My favourite adventure would have to be number five. Read to find what happens in number five!!!
I recommend this collection of breathtaking stories to age 7+. I also recommend it to animal-lovers and readers who like funny stories.
Not many people know this, but my Ready to Read books about Skipper the Dog were originally about a cat. Our cat called Moose (who’s still alive) is a big old white and ginger boy. He’s a bit slow and forgetful now, but in his younger days he was boisterous and funny – and he was definitely an ‘outside cat’. I wrote a true story about Moose the cat, called Outside Moose! and sent it to Learning Media. They loved the idea of an outside cat wanting to be an inside cat. It’s true that one rainy day we let Moose in and he created havoc in the house because he wasn’t used to being inside and was over excited. That was the background to my story.
The editor contacted me and said it was a great idea for a Ready to Read story, but they already had stories about a famous cat called Greedy Cat. She suggested we could change Moose into a dog. I was happy with that, and Moose didn’t mind at all. So the story was kept the same, but the cat called Moose was changed to a dog called Moose. It was trialled in a black and white version in several schools, which is what happens to all Ready to Read books I believe.
The kids liked the idea for the story and they loved the dog character, but some kids were bothered that a dog would be called Moose. That doesn’t sound like a dog’s name, they said. So the editor contacted me again and said, “you know how we changed Moose the cat to Moose the dog? Now we want to change it to Skipper the dog. Is that okay with you?” I was just so pleased to have a book published that of course I said yes. The title was changed to No, Skipper! and published. I then wrote the next story about Skipper’s Happy Tail, which was also published.
I love finding out the story behind the story. I hope you do too.
Try an animal story. It could be about a mouse like Stuart Little or Runaway Ralph, a horse like Bow Down Shadrach or Pony Club Secrets, a dog like Shadow or Hotel for Dogs, or a cat like The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips or The Warriors series.
Tell us about your favourite animal book and you’ll go into the draw to WIN a Stacy Gregg prize pack with books from the Pony Club Secrets and Pony Club Rivals series.
This is a story about a witch’s dog called Wilf. His owner, Weenie, loves to help other people. She gets a letter saying that she is the best witch in town and could she come and teach in the School of Spells! Weenie is very excited and Wilf is very proud because now they can help more people.
Wilf decides to go to the school to learn some magic spells too. But two of his class mates, Sly Cat and Tricky Toad, have a plan. Their plan is to change Wilf’s spells in his jotter … and disaster happens …! My favourite character was actually Sly Cat as he was a funny ‘evil’ cat and in the end realised what he did was wrong after he got into trouble. The rest of the characters are unfailingly positive and nice so Sly Cat made it a better story.
I would recommend this book to anyone 6+ and it is very easy and quick to read. I give this book 8 out of 10 because it was funny.
It’s the school holidays and Zac thinks he might go crazy with boredom. He’s living in exile with his disgraced father on the remote Terawhiti Station on Wellington’s wild southwest coast. Then Zac and his dad witness a boat sink during a storm. Investigating further, Zac finds a set of unusual animal prints on the beach. Whose boat is it? And what creature could have made the prints? Soon armed men are prowling the coast, and threatening Zac, his friends and his family. He must do all he can to protect the Phantom of Terawhiti from those intent on hunting it down.
Giant weta have been around for about 190 million years, and they look like it too. The giant weta on Little Barrier Island, off the coast of New Zealand, are known as ‘devils of the night’.
