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Sunday, August 7, 2011

CHILDREN OF THE SANDS

Adams Booksellers and Horus Publications have announced the launch of Pieter Scholtz’s latest novel, Children of the Sands, on August 11.

Illustrated by Anton Scholtz, this novel for teenagers and the young at heart is about the Kalahari desert, the Kgalakgadi, and about the creatures who inhabit it, especially one little meerkat named Twinkle.

The tale revolves around two young people, Lindiwe and Rudi, and their battle for survival in the harsh Kalahari desert, after the twin-engined Cessna 414 in which they are passengers, crashes en route to Windhoek.

They encounter a number of weird and wonderful creatures; none more weird and wonderful than Twinkle the meerkat, whose cheek and charm are utterly disarming. For Lindiwe and Rudi, their imaginings become a reality when they encounter other creatures with alarmingly human characteristics. These include the ghoulish Signiore Voltoré, the Vulture; Ko-Bra, the cool-dude yellow Cobra who speaks in rap; and Sticky Beak, the Bateleur eagle who performs aerial acrobatics.