Himalayan Hideout
This book, not like many others, it starts by plunging you into an adventure, where you are instantly gripped. I really loved this book and read it in an afternoon. It is not the children being kidnapped, but the adults. The children set off on a long fun, challenging adventure encountering lots of different animals with beautiful descriptions and illustrations. You feel as if you could walk up to them and greet them with their full name. The different personalities of the children really bring the story alive. There are two boys, the younger one thinks mainly of food and the older one tries to be clever but fails desperately over time because the girl out-smarts his thinking with her knowledge of Nepali culture. I think everyone would enjoy this book, even if you don’t have a particular interest in different animals. By the end, you will have a knowledge of more than just foxes and badgers.
Toma, aged 12
Madagascar Misadventure
This was a great story. Malagasy culture, customs and beliefs. Wildlife. Adventure. Humour throughout in the witty chit-chat among the children: Alex, his brother James and the daughter of a colleague of their parents, Claude. Issues of illegal exports of animals and illegal logging. Danger and threat from either people or the environment rear their heads and the children are involved in a great conspiracy and a fight for survival. The writing is wonderful, rich with description, and I can't recommend it enough for readers who enjoy a good adventure in a far-flung place and care about the environment and the protection of animals.
Mari Law
Snowfed Waters
We read Snowfed Waters last month for a bookclub discussion based in Kathmandu. My group and I agree it should be recommended for those intending to visit Nepal. Sonia is a perfect caricature of expatriate volunteers who venture out to live in foreign cultures well outside of their comfort zone. When a natural disaster struck the community and the local family she had learned to love, she gets over her self-absorption and phobias to help them survive. The humour with which the author describes the cultural difference is admirable.
Betty Attfield
Himalayan Heist
In this fast-moving adventure story, the unthinkable happens several times over! From a plane crash landing in the remote mountains of western Nepal, we follow Alex, Bim and James as they escape from the wreckage, crossing terrifying torrents and battling through dense forests – where bears are the least of their problems. This is more than the story about three children trying to find their parents again. It’s also a glimpse into the wicked world of underground trading in animal parts and a quest to bring wildlife-killing criminals to justice.
Anna Robinson-Pant, Professor of Education and UNESCO Chair in Adult Literacy