Terselfdertyd is dit moeilik om hieroor te praat, want elke storie het uit my diepste binneste gegroei. Elke wildeperdspoor, elke teug sout seelug, elke dolfyn wat in die branders baljaar, elke bobbejaan op my werf het vir my ‘n stukkie storie aangegee.
Dankie Miemie du Plessis en Pan Macmillan vir hierdie baie besondere opdrag.
Ons Dierestories
Boek 1: ‘n Drukkie vir Danser
Danser bly saam met sy familie in die vlei.
Die perde loop wild rond en is baie skaam. ‘n Fotograaf neem foto’s van hulle vir ‘n kalender. Die mense hou baie daarvan.
Eendag bring die fotograaf ‘n seuntjie in ‘n rolstoel saam.
Danser vergeet om skaam te wees.
Hy doen allerhande lawwe dinge om die seuntjie te laat glimlag.
Dit word ‘n spesiale dag en die seuntjie belowe om weer te kom kuier.
Boek 2: ‘n Plek vir Patat
Patat slaap elke aand styf teen Mamma in die berg.
Vroegoggend begin die hele trop bobbejane kos soek.
Partykeer is daar nie genoeg kos in die berg en op die strand nie.
Dan moet hulle dorp toe gaan.
‘n Kwaai man wil vir Patat en Mamma uit ‘n lukwartboom jaag.
Maar die vrou en dogtertjie wat daar woon, gee nie om dat hulle kom kuier nie.
Patat weet nou hulle het vriende in die dorp.
Boek 3: ‘n Deuntjie vir Druppel
Druppel baljaar saam met Mamma in die vlak water.
Die dolfyntjie maak vriende met Leila, ‘n dogtertjie wat saam met haar pa op ‘n branderplank ry.
Van toe af speel hulle elke oggend tog te lekker saam.
Een vreeslike oggend draai daar plastiek om Druppel en Mamma, en hulle spoel op die strand uit.
Leila kry hulle daar.
Sy en haar pa doen alles wat hulle kan om hulle nuwe vriende te red.
Boek 4: ‘n Wens vir Wiekie
Wiekie woon in ‘n sirkus.
Al is sy net ‘n welpie, begin die leeutemmer haar reeds toertjies leer.
Wiekie se hart is seer.
Sy wil nie soos Mamma toertjies doen en in ‘n hok wees nie.
Mamma vertel vir Wiekie dat hulle van Afrika kom en gebore is om vry te wees.
Hulle word uit die sirkus gered en na Suid-Afrika geneem.
Daar is Wiekie ry om boom te klim en in die gras te rol.
Ook beskikbaar in Engels as Our Animal Stories.
Illustreerder: Nikè Bekker
Pan Macmillan, 2025
Our Animal Stories
Book 1: A hug for Humbug
Humbug lives with his family in the marsh.
The horses roam wild and are very shy.
A photographer takes photos of them for a calender.
People really like the photos.
One day the photographer brings a boy in a wheelchair along.
Humbug forgets to be shy.
He does all sorts of silly things to make the boy smile.
It becomes a very special day and the boy promises to visit again.
Book 2: A place for Pickle
Pickle and her mom sleep in the mountains every night.
In the mornings, the whole troop of baboons search for food.
Sometimes there isn’t enough food on the mountain and on the beach.
Then they have to go to the village.
A mean man wants to chase Pickle and her mom out of a loquat tree.
But the woman and little girl who live there don’t mind that they come to visit.
Pickle now knows they have friends in the village.
Book 3: A song for Smiley
Smiley plays with his mom in the shallow water.
The little dophin becomes friends with Leila, a girl who surfs with her dad.
From then on, they play together every morning, having a great time.
One terrible morning, there is plastic wrapped around Smiley and his mom, and they wash up on the beach.
Leila finds them there.
She and her dad do everything they can to save their new friends.
Book 4: A wish for Whisper
Whisper lives in a circus.
Even though she’s just a cub, the lion tamer already starts teaching her tricks.
This makes Whisper sad.
She doesn’t want to do tricks like her mom and be in a cage.
Whisper’s mom tells her that they come from Africa and were born to be free.
Their friends rescue them from the circus and arrange for them to be taken to South Africa.
There Whisper is free to climb trees and roll in the grass.
Also available in Afrikaans as Ons Dierestories.
Illustrator: Nikè Bekker
Pan Macmillan, 2025