Modjaji Books has collaborated with Sunflower Books to publish this picture book.
Join Fitchy on a safari with a difference with his best friend Bobo, Philemon the frog, Helen the hedgehog, Mr Mustard the bear, Miss Kitty and Buddy the cow-giraffe. But can they get past The Buster?
Mr Fitchelstein’s friends are sad because they see people going on safari, going out in trucks and seeing all sorts of new and exciting things. They want to go on safari too. The problem is Mr Fitchelstein, Fitchy, is a baby and his friends are his toys. Bobo, the doll, and Fitchy’s best friend, and Mr Fitchelstein decide that they must do something because they don’t like seeing their friends sad.
They decide that they will use Fitchy’s playpen on wheels as a safari truck and Fitchy and Bobo will be the safari guides. Instead of going out into the bush to see the Big 5, this safari will be around the house where they experience exciting things like seeing the funny Gammy and the colourful flowers in the garden, have a scary but exciting encounter with the fierce Buster, and listen to Mommy play her guitar and sing them a song that puts everyone to sleep.
This delightful book, illustrated with the soft gentleness of Elizabeth Pulles’ paintings, turns the idea of a safari on its head while showing that beautiful and exciting things can be found in your own home if only you take a moment to pay attention.
Target audience
It should find a wide general audience but has the added advantage of being able to find a market in place where tourists might be found. Parents and caregivers could have fun making their own home safaris after reading the book with their children.
About the author:
LAURI KUBUITSILE is a full-time writer living in Mahalapye, Botswana. She has numerous books and short stories published around the world, across genres, and for every age group. She has won or been shortlisted for many prizes: she was shortlisted for the 2011 Caine Prize and twice won The Golden Baobab Prize for children’s stories. Her historical novel, The Scattering (2016), won the 2017 Sharjah International Book Fair prize for international fiction.
About the illustrator:
ELIZABETH PULLES is a multi-award-winning children’s book illustrator from Johannesburg. She has been involved with the planning and creation of educational reading material for very young children for many mainstream South African publishers and literacy organisations. Elizabeth’s work gives young children a view of a diversely populated Africa illustrating stories that reflect their own lives in whatever circumstances they might find themselves.