It’s Earth Day! We’ve only got the one planet, and today (and every day) is a good day to reflect on the ways we can make it better— today and tomorrow. We have a few books, for readers of all ages, that tackle some of our biggest environmental issues from a variety of perspectives. And if you keep reading, you’ll also get a peek at some forthcoming titles that also explore our connection to the natural world.
David Muirhead’s Cat Among the Pigeons is a look at those who fly, swim, slither, and gallop across South Africa. This collection of short essays, a mix of science, history, and myth asks us to consider wildlife as companions on this planet, and as David writes, “not as zoological curiosities but as individuals with lives as rich, in their own way, as our own.” Also, check out David’s #ReadingAfrica reading list for more nature books to explore.
Small Mercies by Bridget Krone is an award-winning middle-grade novel about standing up for what’s right even when it’s hard. Mercy, a girl living in South Africa with her two aunts, has to figure out a way to do the right thing. And with some lessons from the past given to her by a thoughtful neighbor and a little help from some flying, buzzing friends, she just might do it. (And if you loved Small Mercies, you’ll also love Bridget’s next book, The Cedarville Shop and the Wheelbarrow Swap, coming this June)
Helen Brain’s dystopian fantasy trilogy for young adult readers starts with The Thousand Steps. The first book in the series introduces us to Ebba, a 16-year-old who has spent her life in a bunker deep inside South Africa’s Table Mountain. She, like all of the inhabitants of the bunker, believe that world “above” is uninhabitable due to massive sea level rise. She discovers the truth about herself and the world above when she is suddenly released from the bunker and tasked with saving the Earth from imminent destruction.
We are beyond proud to be the North American publishers for Disruption: New Short Fiction from Africa, the newest anthology from Short Story Day Africa. In this collection of short stories, writers from across the continent explore the ways that we grow, adapt, and survive in the face of our ever-changing global realities— climate change, pandemics, social upheaval, surveillance, and more.
Coming soon
Late this year, and early next year, we’re proud to release two more titles that explore our connections to the natural world.
For middle-grade readers, the graphic novel Pearl of the Sea. Since her mother left, Pearl has spent more and more time in the ocean, fishing to help her father pay the bills. But when she gets mixed up with a group of illegal abalone poachers and starts diving near a restricted wreck, Pearl meets an ancient sea monster named Otto—who isn’t quite as monstrous as she thought. And when Otto’s enemies come back to finish what they started, Pearl is the only one who can save him, but only if she has the courage to let go of her past and open up to others—including the girl from class she’s got a crush on. Pearl’s bravery is the only thing that can save Otto, and let her live her truth. Out September 2022.
Eye Brother Horn is a historical fiction novel set in 19th-century colonial South Africa. Daniel, the son of white missionaries, and Moses, a Zulu baby discovered on a riverbank, are raised as brothers in the small South African mission of Umzinyathi. They soon discover that the world sees their bond as a threat to the colonial order, and they must confront the impossible choice between adapting and staying true to each other. With elements of magic realism, Eye Brother Horn is the story of how two children born of vastly different worlds can forge a true brotherhood, and find ways to heal the deep wounds inflicted by the colonial expansion project. Out in 2023
