Published by – Beyond The Vale Publishing
Published date – August 2023
Beautifully illustrated full colour A4 children’s story and activity book.
The story follows Jess, a young and naïve teddy bear who is searching and trying to
understand her place in the world around her. Jess is very excited when she and her
family move from the big city to a beautiful, enchanted forest. It is here, (with
the help of her new friends) that Jess begins to discover the importance of being
different and unique, as well as the importance of friendship and teamwork.
About the author
Ariane Nortje (pronounced Adrian with a silent ‘d’) is a qualified architectural draughtsman and children’s picture book writer.
She married the man she fell in love with after two years of dating and wasted no time adding two boys to their family tree. They lived a busy city life in Johannesburg and then decided to emigrate to New Zealand.
It was for the birds, as a woman with a fierce love for South Africa and her family she just couldn’t leave her sunkissed African life behind.
She has since slowed down in George, Western Cape where she writes from a renovated cabin in a semi woodlands area.
Her favourite poems are “No Enemies” by Charles Mackay and “White Skin, African Soul” by Ian Buchan. She loves champagne, romance films “Love, Actually”, “A Good Year” and “About Time”.
Editor review
“The story is beautifully metaphorical and helps to show young readers, that who they are matters, and that being different from those around you is a good thing. Every person has something to offer, due to their unique talents.
Using the game of chess as a metaphor to get the story’s message and meaning across is a fantastic and creative tool to help with young readers’ understanding and curiosity.
The genuine and wise characters are of extreme importance and will be admirable to young readers.”
-Kelly Martin
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