Maretha at Fauna Park Tales

Another Post from Chicki! – Margaret Lynette Sharp

Chicki is one of my favourite canines and I’m always happy to have her on my blog too. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Chicki!

margaret lynette sharp

Chicki Chicki

Hello to all my fans! I’m so happy to report that Mummy has finally yielded to my urgent demands and once again given me access to her blog. And about time, too! I’m sure all of you must have been out of sorts, so long have you been waiting and hoping for my triumphant return…

Doubtless you’ll be relieved to know that life has been treating me pretty well. I’ve made some new doggy friends on my daily walks to the park, as well as keeping up my acquaintance with old comrades such as Sasha, the frisbee-catching canine. Sasha thinks she’s a star performer: just quietly, she told me she loves an audience.

And well she might, for I also admit to liking to be the centre of attention ( as I so often am, doubtless due to my irresistible good looks and delightful manners).  I am, however, very…

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Published by Maretha at Fauna Park Tales

Maretha is a South African Italian, born in a small town called Montagu. She grew up in nearby Worcester in the Western Cape – a town reminiscent of living in Switzerland among the snow-capped mountains. Worcester had a small library. Young Maretha’s visits were limited to three times a week, because the librarian told her, “You spend too much time with your nose in a book and neglect your school work.” Nothing much has changed, because she's still a confirmed bookworm who constantly strives to raise more bookworms who enjoy reading, not just as a pleasant past-time, but as an excellent tool to be used when grown-up. Before immigrating to the UK to settle in Lancashire, Maretha worked as a librarian in a private school in Botswana, where one of her tasks was to encourage children to enjoy reading. That was a labour of love for this bookworm, providing valuable help in carving her own career as a children's author/illustrator. It brought her face to face with the literary industry’s toughest critics – children and preteens. She saw that many students also enjoyed reading about birds and animals, their care, habitats and general well-being, especially when a few added catchy rhymes here and there made reading sessions interesting and alive. In 2012 her job was localised and as things often happen, this unforeseen occurrence led to a new chapter in her life. To remain motivated, she wrote down everything she could remember about her family's pets – their little habits and characteristics. For example, the character of the working-dog hero in Fauna Park Tales is based on the different traits of every single dog her family ever owned. Researching habits, habitats and interesting titbits about martial eagles and eagle owls, as well as many smaller birds such as crimson-breasted shrikes and hoopoes,made it easier to illustrate them and tell a believable story. Her illustrations appear throughout Fauna Park Tales. Maretha Botha admits to being a chocoholic and unreformed coffee addict, a keen gardener and bird watcher, who likes to walk on the moors where the stiff breeze coming in from the sea, quickly clears her head, making way for more inspiration.

3 comments

    • I love seeing pictures of Chicki and especially reading about his latest adventures. I had a little dog called Pixie whom we had to leave behind in Botswana. She was adopted by a lovely young couple who already had another little dog like her called Pip. But I’ve never forgotten her and I miss her many a day. So keep sending out posts about Chicki. 🙂

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