What happens when you have a class project due, and you have teamed up with two completely different personalities?

Nisa’s group consists of the bubbly, effervescent Hasna and Amir, the strange new boy who doesn’t say much. When they meet up to plan their presentation, their world is turned upside down, all because of a broken watch and a chance encounter with the Timekeeper’s Manifesto.

It holds a cryptic message, that you must search your past to find your purpose. When a strange green gas seeps through the streets, the President announces a shutdown of Johannesburg City. Curfews are announced to keep people indoors, gumboots, gas masks and oxygen tanks are the new fashion statement, and schools are closed. As the green gas grows and thickens around them, it overwhelms the city skies and soon sunlight struggles to get in.

A gloomy green darkness descends on Jozi. The city seems frozen in time. According to the Circle of the Astrolabe, they don’t have much time to reverse this mess before the green gunk takes permanent hold of the city.

How much longer can they endure and who can stop this great green menace so that life can return to normal again? Nisa Qamar and the Circle of the Astrolabe is the fourth book in the Nisa Qamar series by WordFlute Press.

South Africa is a melting pot of diverse cultures and languages, encouraging Sipho and his group to learn all 11 official languages, gaining friends along the way. Lifelong friendships are forged when all trivial differences are cast aside, and children can just be children!

‘Sipho & Co learn isiXhosa’ kicks off the series, taking carefree kids on an enjoyable multicultural adventure, where diversity is the norm.

The leader of the pack is Sipho, a friendly and energetic Xhosa boy, who is proud of his heritage and eager to teach his friends his language and traditions. What happens after a little rumble in the park?

Spying on the Monsters’ Festival is a gripping story with vintage aura. The novel is packed with twists and turns, culminating to an unpredictable ending.

While the novel is perfect for teenagers, it will also appeal to adults, as the story magnificently evokes the playfulness of childhood that lies within. In as much as it’s exciting and centred around mythical characters, the story also carries a string of real-life lessons.

The summary of book is all wrapped up in the title of the novel – Monsters’ festival!

Gabriella Rose meets the pandas Funi and Wang is a tale of an adventurous, animal-loving little girl, who in her dream, experiences the fun of being a panda bear.

Instantly drawn into their world, can she modify the hype of the special birthday party celebrations?

This is the third book in the Gabriella Rose Dream Series, encapsulating Gabi's fantastical dreams about Australia's iconic attractions. Each story has a whimsical and educational element.

In Danny Has Screen Time Trouble, Danny finds an exciting game on his mother’s phone, and is soon introduced to an even more exciting, fast and fun fighting game. Danny begins to sneak off with screen and play more and still more, until his sleep, eating and schoolwork all start to suffer.

With a little help, Danny learns about the pros and cons of screens and learns to find a better balance.

Screen time management is such an important topic to the modern family, and teaching children about the value as well as potential ill-effects of screens needs to start at a young age: this book does just that in a fun and nurturing way.

Remy is an eleven-year-old, intelligent, but unhappy boy who lives in a beautiful coastal South African town. Self-conscious about his appearance, he is quite shorter than other children his age and has very small eyes, Remy lacks self-confidence and struggles with insecurities and anger issues.

Remy is often mocked by other children at school, particularly about his height, which exacerbates his sensitivity about his appearance. Unable to manage his feelings, he starts picking fights with anyone who makes fun of him making things worse. Not only are children starting to enjoy Remy’s frustration and anger, but his performance at school becomes affected as he loses interest in studies and his grades begin to drop. Things worsen for Remy when he starts middle school and Jayden, the cool, tall, athletic, popular kid, teases and bullies Remy making his life more difficult than ever.

In this tale of growth and self-discovery, the reader follows Remy’s journey and emotional struggle to self-acceptance. With the help of a wise owl that provides Remy with a new perspective, and his mother’s advice, reassurances, and knowledge and practice of yoga, which Remy incorporates into his own life, Remy comes to a new understanding of himself. Reflecting on her own life, author Mayuri Naidoo hopes that Remy: A Book About Believing in Yourself will impart basic principles and philosophies of yoga and other tools she cultivated as an adult but wishes she had been taught at Remy’s age.

In Danny Goes To Big School, Danny has turned 6, and “big school” at Oak Primary is about to start.

This feels so daunting and scary and formal…and he is reluctant to leave the comforting, playful environment of Acorn Pre-primary, his Kindergarten. However, he soon learns that big school is lots of fun and that most learning still happens through play! He was more than ready to tackle this new stage of education after all.

This book is a must-read for children transitioning into formal education and teaches children all about different parts of a school and different forms of education too.

In Danny Has an Operation, five-year old Danny needs an operation- a tonsillectomy. This is frightening- but with a bit of explanation and reassurance and a team of lovely doctors and nurses, Danny gets through the operation and recovery seamlessly.

He also learns about different medical specialties and hospitals. This book is a most useful resource for parents and children when an operation is on the cards.

In Danny Goes to the Doctor, four-year old Danny has a raging tonsillitis and needs a visit to the doctor- a rather daunting prospect- but friendly Dr Joe puts him at ease very soon-and it’s not so bad after all!

Danny learns all about body systems and medical tools too. A must read for children (over and over again!) before they visit the doctor.

Jungle Beat is a fun, family-friendly animated series that has delighted kids in over 200 countries across the world and become a YouTube phenomenon (with over 3 million subscribers!). In 2020, the Jungle Beat animals appeared in their first feature film, Jungle Beat: The Movie, that has taken them out of the jungle and into homes throughout the world!

Sunrise Productions, the creative force behind the film and hit-series, is proud to present the story of the film to be enjoyed in a whole new way as an illustrated storybook.

The tale begins with a monkey in the jungle who one day discovers that he and his companions – an elephant, an ostrich, a giraffe, a rhino and a hedgehog – can speak. The reason for this newfound skill soon becomes apparent when they encounter a lost alien, Fneep, from another planet.

As the animals and Fneep become firm friends along their journey to grassland regions, another ominous alien, Grogon, who is Fneep’s father from the faraway planet appears. Grogon is determined to take over the animals’ planet. What will the animals do? And how does Fneep feel about it all?

Author Roz Potgieter has drawn inspiration from the lives of her granddaughters Gabriella and Anastasia to create the GabAna series. This Series encourages children to be awesome little beings. Told in rhyme, sisters Gabi and Ana (GabAna) demonstrate how cool it is to be respectful wherever you may be: at home, at school or in the playground.

Thought-provoking and easy for little ones to comprehend, conveying insightful ideas to be awe-inspiring kids.

Designed for parent and child interaction, with a fun question and answer component.

The Big Bird Battle tells the story of a turf war between two rival gangs: the Hard Hadedas and the Foul Guinea Fowl, each of which believes they have sole rights to the local park. As the other users of the park go about their daily activities, the rival birds harass and challenge each other. Their noisy scuffl es cause a disruption until, fi nally, a pair of Egyptian geese intervene. Being larger than hadedas or guinea fowl, the geese soon take over, forcing the warring birds out of the park. As night falls and peace descends, the reader is left wondering whether this is truly the end of the confl ict, or if the big bird battle will begin again as soon as the sun comes up.

Yoga? For giraffes? With enough hard work and a good imagination, anything is possible, as Sindile the giraffe discovers. When he stumbles across a human yoga class underway at a game lodge he decides to master the skill as well. Yoga isn’t the easiest thing for a giraffe, and it takes some doing, with hilarious results, but when he does, it leads to a whole new lease on life for Sindile. Written in rhymig verse accompanied by delightful illustrations, Yoga for Giraffes promotes an interest in health and well-being for young children, as well as entertaining them and showing them the benefits of perseverance.

Author Roz Potgieter has drawn inspiration from the lives of her granddaughters Gabriella and Anastasia to create the GabAna series. This Series encourages children to be awesome little beings. Told in rhyme, sisters Gabi and Ana (GabAna) demonstrate how cool it is to be kind wherever you may be: at home, at school or in the playground.

Thought-provoking and easy for little ones to comprehend, conveying insightful ideas to be awe-inspiring kids.

Designed for parent and child interaction, with a fun question and answer component.

The Unfamous Five is, a parody of Enid Blyton’s Famous Five series. It works to undermine Blyton’s depiction of childhood, and the seeming neutralities of class and race that the series perpetuates. This novel captures the lives of five main characters of Indian origin and is set, mainly, in and around Lenasia.

The five central characters are seen from their adolescent years with a growing desire to leave Lenasia. When they finally achieve this goal, the baggage of history and identity lingers, ultimately forcing them return to Lenasia but on new terms.

Bella ken 'n paar parmantige truuks. Sy en haar kat Sebastiaan woon op Wag-'n-Bietjie en sommer met die intrapslag laat hulle die dorp regopsit toe Bella al haar meubels by die voordeur uit toor. Sy neem ook deel aan die dorp se talentkonsert - as kulkunstenaar! Bella skryf Sebastiaan in vir die katteskou, met katastrofiese gevolge, en wanneer Bella werk kry as "misterieuse koper" moet die dorp se diewe ligloop vir Bellamet- haar-kamera-bril!

Die aksiebelaaide opvolg op Emma En Die Geheime Gang.

Die skool en koshuis op Kosterkloof het weer na normaal teruggekeer ná die skoolhoof se komplot om kinders se DNA aan ruimtewesens te verkoop, oopgevlek is. Die kinders word nou aangemoedig om gesond te eet en ook sport te beoefen. Emma kom egter gou agter dat die blou koelsakke wat die onderhoof in die middel van die nag kombuis toe dra, nie die rugbyspan se koeldranke bevat soos hy beweer nie. En wat het die nuwe hoteleinenaar, die Plottenboers, Jori Appelgryn en die Snopkes, wat steeds in die tronk sit, met mekaar te doen?

Emma besluit natuurlik om ondersoek in te stel, maar niks kan haar en Zoltan egter voorberei vir die gruwelike fonds wat hulle een aand in die koelsakke ontdek nie . . .

Op sewentien, toe ons by Opleidingskamp Alpha rapporteer, het ons elkeen ons eie S13 gekry. Daardie dag, toe ek my hande op die swart metaalhuls van die geweer lê, het iets in my doodgegaan. Ek het dit net nie toe al besef nie.

Dertig soldate kry van kleintyd af intense weermagopleiding in ’n distopiese staat.

Ses jong soldate, ontneem van hul menslikheid en hulle jeug, bly oor en word ontplooi na die Front.

Een van hulle vermoor hul seksieleier.

Almal ontken hulle is skuldig.

Wie van hulle lieg?

Die boek takel die kwessie van kindermolestering en dien om kinders in te lig en te bemagtig. Die gevaartekens van molestering word uitgewys en riglyne gebied oor hoe om in so ’n situasie op te tree. Kevin is gek oor stories van die dapper prins van Arabia wat teen drake veg. Maar sy ouer sussie, Abby, glo nie meer in sprokies nie. Abby sê daar is ’n draak in hulle huis – een wat vir niks en niemand skrik nie. Maar wie kan dit wees? Gelukkig leer Kevin net wat om te doen om homself te beskerm. 

Sebastian of Basjan beskou homself as ’n ‘verloorder’ en die boelies in sy nuwe skool dink ook dat hy een is. Hy sukkel om by die stadslewe aan te pas nadat sy pa gesterf het. Hillbrow lyk skrikwekkend en vol misdaad ná ’n sorgvrye grootword op ’n plaas.

Sy voorkoms is ongewoon – blonde hare, blou oë, blas vel – en die boelies by sy nuwe skool gee hom die bynaam Blasjan. Hy pas nie by sy swart, wit of selfs bruin klasmaats in nie. Sy jong lewensverhaal volg ’n pad van verdrukking en beproewing en ’n stryd teen boelies en dwelmafhanklikes. Hy vind vertroosting in musiek deur kitaar te speel, ’n band te begin, en aan ’n talentkompetisie deel te neem. Hy ontdek selfs sy eerste liefde.

Uiteindelik styg Blasjan bo alles uit en hy word sterker, voel gelukkiger en kry heelwat meer selfvertroue.

FunDza is delighted to bring you this anthology containing a range of stories by Southern African writers.

All stories have already been given a 'thumbs up' by thousands of readers on FunDza's mobi site.

Have fun reading this book filled with things that go bump in the night that you really do not need to fear!

Written by Tony Ridgway, this book will get you thinking about how some people are really monsters, while some monsters are really quite nice people!

Sanri kan nie wag om haar beste vriend, Markus, se neef te ontmoet nie. Danté en sy gesin bly in Vlermuishoogte – ’n geheimsinnige ou kasteel. Maar iets is nie pluis nie ... Waarom het Danté se pa ’n skaduwee soos ’n vlermuis? En is Markus dalk in gevaar?

Lucy, a 16-year-old girl from New York, is recovering from a recent traumatic experience. She joins her father at the fictional Barclay Bay, on South Africa's west coast, where she slowly makes sense of her ordeal. But Lucy cannot help but also be affected by the characters around her, including that of Hap, an early ancestor who lived in the area, and whose experiences Lucy, in a state of heightened emotion and perception, seems to sense.

Ooo ...

Ek is ’n eensame krokodil.

Mense kyk vir my en gril.

Ek soek maters hoog en laag,

maar almal sê ek vreet te graag.

Geslagte Afrikaanse kinders het grootgeword met Betty Misheiker se liedjies oor die dapper muis wat kamstig bang is vir niks; die lappop wat saam met die vrot pampoen en die stukkende skoen op die ashoop beland; en die eensame krokodil wat die luisteraar nooi om in die water te klim.

Hierdie reeks bestaan uit drie oulike prenteboeke gebaseer op die lirieke van Misheiker se immergroen kinderliedjies “Die lappop”, “Die eensame krokodil” en “Die dapper muis”.