Today I want to say thank you to all readers who took the time to go to Amazon to leave a review for Flame and Hope: An African Adventure, book one of Fauna Park Tales, the series. My writing career has been a journey of discovery thus far, but I’m delighted to have received 17 reviews for my flagship since its public
Even though there are many challenges as far as writing a book is concerned, one somehow gets beyond the difficulties of that first manuscript. Then, once it has been edited, re-edited and formatted to perfection, it finally goes live on Amazon with accompanying congratulations and of course, cracking a bottle of Fifth Avenue Cold Duck, or whatever one prefers. Inevitably, the bubbles disappear and then the reality sets in: marketing, maintaining an author platform and much more. I realise now just how difficult it is for children’s authors to obtain reviews on Amazon. They have the extra bits, the extra rocks, or . . . extra mountains as obstacles in their quest to get reviews. You might ask, What is she talking about?
I’m talking about the fact that the very ones we write for cannot tell us directly how they feel. They can only do so via their parents, grandparents, older siblings, carers or teachers – the adults in their lives – mostly busy with life’s ups and downs. Therefore, finding time to write a review on behalf of their children, becomes more challenging whichever way one looks at it. So what are readers saying about Fauna Park Tales?
“An engaging story told in well-crafted prose. Ideal material . . . enhanced by high-quality illustrations. If you and your child love animals and adventure . . . then this book is sure to appeal.”
“Good read. When I have kids of my own, I reckon they’ll love Maretha’s Fauna Park series.”
“What a wonderful story, a bit sad at times, but all in all a great tale told from the perspective of Flame aka ‘Jack Old Boy’.”
The ideal reading age for this series is 9-13. Preteens will enjoy escaping into an imaginary world where many bush creatures always have hope that everything ends well when the sun goes down. Nevertheless, these stories are perfect to be read before bedtime to younger children and I’ve been told that many older readers had their “inner-child” resurface while reading these stories!
Here are a few of the latest reviews which I hope will inspire you to buy the series – available as eBooks, black-and-white paperbacks as well as a Deluxe Colour Edition – for a beloved child.
Though this is a children’s book, it will be enjoyed by animal lovers of any age. It’s an entertaining adventure story that parents will enjoy reading to younger children, or will be appreciated by older independent readers. It’s thought provoking using the descriptive imagery of Africa to set the scene for the series to develop.
Flame and Hope are best friends, and the stories are told through the eyes of Hope. Since Hope is a bird perched high in an Acacia tree, he has an uninterrupted view of the remote cattle farm where Flame, a dog, lives. Flames and Hope are also friends with many other and varied animals and birds that live in the vicinity. On occasions the creatures gather around the tree where Hope is perched, and from where he recounts tales of past goings on.
This is a great writing device, and Maretha uses it well. Although the stories are engaging and well told, I have a slight reservation with the book for the newly independent reader: typically eight years old and upwards. Having said that, Roald Dahl’s Gobblefunk added over a thousand words to the English language of no relevance or meaning and his books are highly successful. Unlike Dahl, Maretha does include a dictionary in her book to help with pronunciation – look out Roald, you have a new contender chasing your heels…
Heading: Animal Tales
It’s an original book and drags you into every page, so that you don’t want to stop reading it!
If you’re an adult after a quick read for a few hours, get this book. If you’re a child, ask your parent or carer to get this for you… you won’t regret it!
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Maretha Botha at Fauna Park Tales 
Thank you for such an informative article. I never realised how much is involved to get a response from readers to leave a review for children’s books. It seems a pity though, considering that we as parents want our children to become life-long readers.
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