Fire Across The Veldt

1900. South Africa. Simon Fonthill, along with his wife Alice, old friend Jenkins, and tracker Mzingeli, is travelling across the continent to Pretoria to meet with General Kitchener. When their train is derailed by hostile Boer forces the quartet are forced to continue their journey on horseback, but are quickly targeted and surrounded by Boer commando leader General de Wet and his soldiers. Fonthill must rejoin the British military and prove his ability as a commander, as he leads the battle to find and capture the elusive Boer leaders.

The year is 1900 and once again China is plunged into barbaric chaos. The Boxers, a cult of young peasants who blame the foreign barbarians living in their country - particularly the missionaries - for the nation's ills, are rampaging through the country, killing foreigners. China's Dowager Empress - 'The Dragon Lady' - secretly encourages them. Into this maelstrom land former captain and army scout Simon Fonthill, his wife Alice and '352' Jenkins, Fonthill's former batman and trusted comrade, to visit Alice's uncle, a country missionary. Threatened by the Boxers, the three escort the missionary and his family to the safety of Peking. En route, the party is attacked by the red-bannered Boxers and the missionary is killed. The survivors reach Peking only to find that the capital is no sanctuary. The Legations of the foreign ministers within the city is surrounded and the Siege of Peking begins. Fonthill, Jenkins and Chang, the missionary's adopted son, volunteer to slip through the enemy lines to bring help. It proves to be Fonthill's most dangerous mission...

Simon Fonthill, his wife Alice and trusty '352' Jenkins are bound from the Chinese port of Tientsin for Durban, South Africa at the urgent request of Kitchener. The rusty tub that is to take them across the sea does not inspire confidence and, more worryingly, neither does the captain. When matters come to a head, all three must pull together to ensure that their plans and lives aren't wrecked.

When South African conservationist Lawrence Anthony was asked to accept a herd of "rogue" wild elephants on his Thula Thula game reserve in Zululand, his common sense told him to refuse. But he was the herd's last chance of survival: they would be killed if he wouldn't take them. In order to save their lives, Anthony took them in. In the years that followed he became a part of their family. And as he battled to create a bond with the elephants, he came to realize that they had a great deal to teach him about life, loyalty, and freedom. The Elephant Whisperer is a heartwarming, exciting, funny, and sometimes sad account of Anthony's experiences with these huge yet sympathetic creatures. Set against the background of life on an African game reserve, with unforgettable characters and exotic wildlife, it is a delightful book that will appeal to animal lovers and adventurous souls everywhere.

Three Cockneys have doubts about the fourth member of their card school who always seems to be bragging, yet never saying anything specific. When one of them wins the pools they set out to trap their mate, shame him and shut him up for good. This leads to an adventure they could never have dreamed of, and leads them to start questioning their own characters.

Ray Bradbury [RL 6 IL 7-12] The nursery of the Hadleys ultra- modern Happylife Home transforms itself into a sinister African veldt. Theme: technology out of control. 42 pages. Tale Blazers.