Maretha at Fauna Park Tales

Short Story – Mystery Of The Moving Rock – Maretha Botha

Please keep an eye on this blog and other media sites for a link to Susan Day’s delightful blog where she aims to put the “grand” back into the relationship between grandparents and their grandchildren, encouraging this wonderful relationship to grow stronger than ever by providing short stories written by various children’s authors, giving grandparents the opportunity to read to their grandchildren.

Image result for grandparents reading to grandchildrenImage result for grandparents reading to grandchildrenI am delighted to tell you that I will be sharing such short stories every Sunday with you, because Susan Day, Astro’s Adventures’ Creator has accepted me as a regular contributor to ASTRO’S ADVENTURES BOOK CLUB and BLOG.

My first short story, based on true fact, is called ‘The Mystery of the Moving Rock’ and has a few lovely illustrations to add interest for younger readers and/or listeners. Please let us know what your grandchildren and of course other children who read for themselves, think about this by leaving a comment on Astro’s Page. Here follows a short excerpt and introduction.  Please follow the link:

http://www.astrosadventuresbookclub.com/mystery-of-the-moving-rock-by-maretha-botha/

“Today we are so lucky to have South African author, Maretha Botha, sharing one of her wonderful stories with us. Maretha is going to be a regular contributor and her stories will appear each Sunday.

So, read on and make sure you come back or sign up for more wonderful, and exciting stories from South Africa!

“A young man went on a photographic safari to Botswana, somewhere in Southern Africa, hoping to photograph something unusual.

He shared a small house with a few news reporters. On a hot Friday afternoon, he was relaxing in his easy chair. Non-stop hooting from the garbage collectors’ truck startled him.

They showed him something which was stuck in a 25-litre empty paint bucket, urging him to buy it. He was curious, but not keen to part with his money. He saw something which looked like a rock inside the bucket. He tried to lift it out of the bucket, thinking, What sort of a rock is this then? . . .” – An Excerpt . . . click on the link and read more!

http://www.astrosadventuresbookclub.com/mystery-of-the-moving-rock-by-maretha-botha/

Thank you for popping in.  Please remember that your comments are always much appreciated by all of us, children’s authors.  

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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.

5 comments

  1. Reblogged this on MarethMB and commented:

    I’m hoping those of us who are grandparents might like to read these Sunday stories to grandchildren. Let me know if you find this week’s story to the young ones’ liking!

    Like

    Reply

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