ROCKY IN THE WILDERNESS
Rocky is a brindle Staffordshire with a big heart. His idyllic life in a Botswana wildlife reserve takes a drastic turn for the worse while on safari with Sean Clayton, a game ranger. Thinking Rocky dead, Sean leaves the reserve heartbroken. Unbeknownst to him, Rocky is still alive but injured, lost in the wilderness. He meets Igola, a serval cat, and the pair set off on an adventure of a lifetime to save the rhino and elephants in the reserve from the clutches of a deadly band of poachers, led by their king, Mugambi . . . Seeking even more wealth from the wild bounty in the reserve the poachers set out to kill every living thing. It is up to Rocky and Igola to unite the wild animals of the wilderness preserve if they are to survive.
The Rocky Adventure Series of books are literary gems for all ages. The stories are about Rocky, a brindle Staffordshire terrier and his friends, both human and animal. The stories are centred around a game reserve in Botswana of which Rocky’s master, Sean Clayton, is the senior ranger. Rocky’s adventures take him as far afield as Namibia, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Lesotho.
Rocky’s riveting adventures are ideal for teaching conservation principles and environmental morals. Over 200 schools in South Africa, Botswana and Namibia have included them in classroom studies, as both suggested reading and as part of their curriculum. Rocky’s books are special, they get the reader to view life through the animals’ eyes and evoke empathy and understanding of what it is like to live in the skin of another creature.
Wilbur Smith, one of the world’s greatest and most prolific writers, said of ‘Rocky in the Wilderness’, “It is one of the best stories I’ve read in a long time. I thoroughly enjoyed it!”
One mother purchased a copy to read to her children while on holiday at Sabi Sabi, Kruger Park, South Africa. She said, “My children were sitting next to me in the lodge lounge at night. With the sounds of the bush outside the open deck I read to my children. My kids were enthralled by it and didn’t want me to stop. In fact, everyone in the lounge was listening to it. They laughed at the funny parts and entreated me not to stop when I got tired, because they had enjoyed it so much. The characters and story line seemed to jump from out of the pages and became so alive to all . . .”
One young schoolgirl commented, “Rocky in the Wilderness is my all-time favourite book. I’ve read it over five times already . . .” Prince Charles, heir to the British throne noted, “I couldn’t put it down . . .” Jackie Chan commented, “Shaun is a great story teller . . .”
Rocky in the Wilderness is the first in the series. All the animals talk and each book covers a different aspect of environmental degradation with a conservation message woven into the story teaching environmental morals and principles. Other books in the series include Rocky and the San Bushman, Rocky and the Wild dogs, Rocky and the Origins of Man, Rocky and the Fighting Dogs, Rocky in the Lost City of the Kalahari and Rocky and Birdy Bird.
