LoveReading4Kids Says
Lauren St John’s much-loved and critically acclaimed debut novel The White Giraffe came out in 2006 and Dolphin Song is his second African adventure. It’s a beautifully told story that screams out the sights and the sounds of Africa but it also has a mystery element to it that enriches the whole reading experience. The author travelled to Mozambique’s Bazaruto Archipelago where the story is set and is home to hundreds of wild dolphins and a true African paradise. Lauren says, ‘The sand is so clean that it squeaks when you walk, the water is aquamarine, and the islanders are extremely proud that their islands are friendly and free of crime.’
LoveReading4Kids
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Dolphin Song Synopsis
It's June - winter in South Africa, and Martine and her grandmother are enjoying a cold but beautiful walk along the beach when they find a stranded, dying dolphin. Martine uses her gift of healing to help it back to the ocean but it's only the latest in a series of inexplicable beachings of dolphins and whales - and the start of a brand new adventure for Martine. After a last stolen midnight ride on her beloved white giraffe, Jemmy, Martine's class is off on an amazing school trip to the islands of Mozambique to witness the legendary 'Sardine Run'. It's a trip that goes drastically wrong and Martine, with close friend Ben, finds herself swimming in shark-infested waters, marooned on an uninhabited island and suddenly at the centre of mysterious submarine goings-on as she tries to save a pod of 100 dolphins from certain death. Like her debut novel, THE WHITE GIRAFFE, DOLPHIN SONG has plenty of action and adventure, and delves deeply into Martine's relationships with the people and animals around her. It makes her question the true nature of her gift, and what she will be called upon to do next.The incredible beauty of the flora and fauna of this little known corner of Africa is richly evoked as a result of Lauren's in depth knowledge and research of the area.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781842556115 |
| Publication date: |
1st July 2008 |
| Author: |
Lauren St. John |
| Publisher: |
Orion Publishing Co |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
288 pages |
| Series: |
The White Giraffe Series |
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About Lauren St. John
Lauren St John grew up surrounded by horses and wild animals on a farm and game reserve in Zimbabwe, the inspiration for her memoir, Rainbow’s End. After studying journalism, she relocated to the UK, where she spent nearly a decade on the European and PGA Tours as golf correspondent to the Sunday Times. She also wrote the acclaimed music biography Hardcore Troubadour: The Life & Near Death of Steve Earle. She is the author of the multi-award- winning The White Giraffe series for children, as well as the Laura Marlin mysteries, the first of which, Dead Man’s Cove, won the 2011 Blue Peter Book of the Year Award. Her bestselling One Dollar Horse series was followed by YA horse romance, The Glory, now optioned for film.
My Favourite Children’s Books by Lauren St John
For Love of a Horse by Patricia Leitch. Without doubt this is the book that inspired me most as a child. At the time I was living on a farm in Zimbabwe in Southern Africa and had a black horse called Morning Star and it seemed to me that the way I felt about him and Jinny Manders felt about the chestnut Arab mare she rescued from a circus in For Love of a Horse was identical. This series is just brilliant in every way. I’ve read each book at least five times and would happily do so again.
Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotsen. To me, Eva Ibbotsen is a genius. You can pick up any of her books – The Dragonfly Pool and One Boy and His Dog are also fantastic – and be guaranteed a good read. A warm, joyous book to be enjoyed by any generation.
Five Run Away Together by Enid Blyton. I think I read my first Famous Five novel when I was six and I was hooked from that moment on. Sure there are bits of that have dated and Enid Blyton is not the world’s greatest prose stylist. But decades on, the appeal of the Famous Five is as strong as ever. Impossible to resist.
The Black Stallion by Walter Farley. The ultimate wish fulfillment fantasy, later made into an award-winning film. I’ve read this book more times than I can count and it never loses it’s magic. The film is great too.
Ring of Bright Water by Gavin Maxwell. I read this book as a set book at school in Zimbabwe and it had a big impact on me. Gavin Maxwell’s beautifully written book about his life with otters on Scotland’s remote west coast has been called a ‘masterpiece’ and ‘one of the outstanding wildlife books of all time.’ Anyone who loves animals and nature would enjoy this special book. Ring of Bright Water was later made into an outstanding film starring Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers.
The Tiger who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr. I fell in love with the smiley, chubby tiger in Judith Kerr’s classic picturebook during one hot Zimbabwe summer when I had to read it four or five times a day to my niece. If it had been up to her I’d have read it even more frequently. Each time I got to the end, she pleaded for us to begin again. Pure genius.
More About Lauren St. John
