Stories Imagined was created to have a voice in woman's fiction. Writing about an age group of women who are on their second wind. Ready to take on the world how they see fit. The juggle and struggle of womanhood, sexuality, motherhood and coming back to self.
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Katie Peridot quite likes being ordinary.Unfortunately, some very out-of-the-ordinary things have been happening to her. On top of this her best friend, Mayuri, isn’t her best friend anymore, a sinister sponsorship programme is taking over her school, her mother is acting more crazy than usual and the only person who really seems to understand her is a peculiar cleaning lady. Then she teams up with Themba, the cleverest (and most unpopular) boy at school, and together their investigation takes them deep into the town’s abandoned mine. What they find there is more terrible than they could have imagined. Can they save Witchfield before it’s too late?
If Sam can ever finish raking the autumn leaves, he'll get to play with his friends. But more leaves just keep falling! Argh! It’s no help that he's distracted by how many fall at once or what shapes and colours they have either... or will Sam's once bitter chore turn into the playtime he wished for?
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The Reading Journey is a journal for your literary adventures. Join a group of furry and feathered friends for an exploration of the extraordinary world of words, stories, reading and writing. Designed by library designers, linguists and childhood experts, you can now plot your course through the Map of Memories. Join us for a ride on the Book Boat, the Poetry Plane and the Story Sled, Visit the Mountains of Meaning, the Gorge of Gorgeous Words, the Forest of Feelings, and the Desert of Dreams. The Reading Journey is an interactive journal that encourages joyous curiosity about the literary realm, using the written word as a medium to expand children’s horizons, to promote self knowledge, and to cultivate a love for reading.
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Step inside Mr Muku’s Hair Salon and choose your cut. Today is looking busy! A sneaky mohawk behind mom's back, a mistaken sneeze disaster, and a frightening phobia of scissors. Jump into a seat beside Mr Muku's customers and watch their hair and emotions fly across the room.
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Late one night, Sam rolls off her bed and splash! Her entire room has flooded! Not just her room, but the whole house is filling up with water as the world floods outside. Confused and cold, Sam is rescued by a wise, little turtle called Neville, who takes her along the beautiful underwater highway, teaching her the ways of this watery world. 'Water isn’t cruel nor kind, but if you manage to keep your head, then the water will keep you,’ Neville repeats to Sam through their epic adventure across the newly formed oceans, meeting all sorts of interesting creatures along the way, to find and rescue Sam’s parents, now washed somewhere downstream.
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Buhle is on her way to school, excited to show off her brand new hairstyle, when she notices a little seed on the ground. What will it grow up to be? A stick, a tree, a fruit? Will it make other seeds? And if a tree can grow from such a small seed, what could she grow into?
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From children's book author Emily House comes a wonderful story that re-connects us with our planet. A modern fable inspired by recent events, Earth Takes a Break is a touching picture book jam-packed with fun illustrations and woven together with a message of hope. When Earth feels unwell, she goes to the doctor to ask for help. What the doctor prescribes seems impossible to Earth, until she wakes the next day to find a surprising change!
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What a Wonderful World This Can Be is a ground-breaking picture book about how small acts can have big consequences. Author Mary-An tackles large topics like sustainability, bullying, and poverty, as well as incredibly heart-melting themes of kindness, bravery, and persistence. In this book, a little girl wonders at the wonderful world that is all around her. Although, she is slightly put out when she sees someone begging for food, or oil in the ocean, or even a bully at school—what can she do? One thing at a time! "One piece of trash picked out of the sea, one word of kindness to someone in need, one word to a bully, one hug to a friend, a thing one by one, though the things never end."
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In the footsteps of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series comes Andy Woodage's debut novel and our entrance into his bio-engineered fantasy world. The After-Time Chronicles: One Small Spark is a young-adult fantasy novel of good, evil, genetically engineered creatures, romance, blood, and the search for belonging. Imagine a world without oil, where metals are only available if they can be salvaged or recycled. Imagine if coal was running out. It’s a world where armies no longer build metal monsters, but biological horrors. A world where genetic engineering has become the art of war. This is 12-year-old Jothan’s world. Orphaned by a terrible accident, he dreams of leaving his uneventful life with his grandparents on the family’s griffin farm. However, when a catastrophic attack wipes out every homestead in The Zoological Zone, his world is turned upside down. He finds himself thrust into a story larger than he ever dreamed, embarking on a rough journey with a mysteriously appearing warrior to the fabled ‘Temple of Elohim’. Accompanied by his best friend, the griffin Gozell, Jothan sets off across a land ravaged by poverty and wild creatures. Battling his way across the dangerous landscape, his eyes are opened to an empire in the grip of war and unrest... with the ever increasing weight of his role in events to come. Will they make it to the Temple? Will they be welcomed when they arrive? Can Jothan unravel the secrets that seem to control the lives of everyone he meets, including his mysterious saviour?
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Tumi Letsatsi is a 13-year old melanin kween living in Rondebosch, Cape Town. Her favourite colour is yellow, she's still trying to figure out how not to dent her afro on the bus, and how one goes about (ahem!) “french kissing”. She’s a little awkward and a lot uncertain about her future, friendships and how to put together a cool outfit! But then she stumbles across the magic of coding and creates an app called “Project Prep” that goes viral and rockets her and her friends to fame. Then everything starts to fall apart, as she deals with a catfish who befriends her and steals her code, nasty rumours at school and the newfound attention of a crush. The New Girl Code (by Niki Smit, locally edited by Buhle Ngaba) is about the wonders of working in tech, aimed at girls and young women aged 9-15. The project is an initiative of Inspiring Fifty and based on an idea by Janneke Niessen.
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From the illustrator of The Straw Giant & The Crow comes a new picture book, Liefie. Explore the wonders and worries of having a surprise new child with this heart-melting family of otters! 'Liefie' by Jessica Bosworth Smith is an incredibly heart-warming and humorous take on a family of otters, who have a surprise laat-lammetjie (Afrikaans term — "the late lamb" — which is a South African phrase for a surprise child born long after their siblings).
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What if your drawings magically came to life, only to prove rather demanding art critics? Oh, the hassle! In The Chalk Giraffe we follow an artistic child who finds herself drawing a giraffe with chalk… but she is surprised when her creation comes alive and demands changes to his surrounding landscape. What follows is a quirky and humorous tale of creativity and perspective, with the beautiful African landscape as a backdrop to this new and unlikely friendship.
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What on Earth am I? is Lara Salomon's and Megan Bird's first children's book together, investigating complex topics, like identity, diversity, and existentialism, for kids. It is a wonderful picture book for children with more questions than answers about the world. The book follows a young child’s over-active imagination, which often leaves them confused as to what kind of creature they are. They try their very best to discover the answer by recalling the many creatures that they've read about in their storybooks and fairytales. "I've been reading all these stories, and they've got me quite confused. Because they feature all these creatures, and I'm really not amused."
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You have never seen the Woodwalkers like this before: find out about the lives of the puma boy Carag and his shapeshifting friends outside the school walls. The young puma shapeshifter Carag is really looking forward to the school holidays. He’s going to visit the family of his girlfriend Tikaani for the first time, so that they can celebrate her birthday together. But before they can head for the far north, they are overtaken by events. First, two self-willed companions join them, and then Carag receives a call for help from his own puma family. A hostile wolf pack has taken over their old den close to Clearwater High. There is something not quite right about these wolves. As the situation becomes increasingly fiery, Carag and Tikaani know they can rely on help from Holly the chipmunk. But will the three of them be able to save the day?
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Lucy and Mum's Shoes (written by Emily Child and illustrated by Warwick Kay) is the story a girl who hears the world a little differently. She is fascinated by the sounds around her, especially the sound of shoes. She dreams of a life where she is surrounded by high-heels. She dreams of being grown-up. Feeling brave one morning, Lucy sneaks into her mother’s cupboard and tries on her favourite pair of stilettos. An unusual and dreamlike day of high-heeled hope, happiness and hindrance follows, leaving Lucy a little less certain that she wants to feel grown-up after all… Lucy invites children (and adults) to be a part of her unique and quirky soundscape. Infused with a surreal eccentricity, this story uncovers what it means to “love the shoes you’re in”.
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This is a story about trees and how we may be very much like them. A little girl wanders through a forest and asks questions about the trees she sees. She runs her hands along their trunks... the lines in the bark are so different to her, yet somewhat familiar. Are they like wrinkles in her granny's skin? If that's the case, what do the leaves say? And the roots and the branches and the colour of their flowers? Hello, Trees investigates who we are by taking a closer look at the fascinating lives of trees. We are more than just a body and a name. We are more than just our feelings. Like trees, we are a culmination of many things. Life is a journey of imagination, of nature, and of ourselves. It sparks questions about who we are and what makes us who we are.
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A new children's picture book by author Emily House (of Earth Takes a Break) brings us the heartwarming tale of Bonbon and Blanket and the lengths we'll go to hold onto those we love. A great pick for a kids' bedtime storybook! Bonbon and Blanket’s friendship is full of fun and adventure, but the pair very soon discover that not every adventure is of their own choosing!
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This is the story of a little wolf. One day, the wolf's mother gave two candies to the little cub, one for him and one for a new friend, that he had yet to find. But he did not understand why he needed to find friends to share candies with. After all, he did not like to share, and he loved sweets very much! In the end, no one wants to be friends with a selfish animal, so how can our wolf cub even find one? Maybe he has to learn that happiness does not only mean candies? From 3 to 5 years, 606 words. Rightsholders: hanna.bulhakova@ranok-school.com
