More than an adventure – ‘Rainbow’s Heart’ has an environmental message

THE Rainbow’s Heart, by Richard Latimer ( Bumble Books) BEES are tricky insects – we like their honey and we’re glad they help to pollinate our plants.

But they also have nasty stings which can really hurt.

The Rainbow’s Heart is about a colony of bees who are starving to death because a poacher has sliced down all the nearby flowers to sell overseas.

This means there is no nectar they can use to make honey.

But a honeyguide – a bird that guides humans to bee colonies – sees that there is a big problem. So it flies to the city where it spots a bright and beautiful garden.

The garden belongs to cousins Dusty and Bob, who love birds and bees, because birds and bees help keep gardens healthy.

The honeyguide lets them know they need to follow it. So they pack up their 4x4 with a tent and all sorts of camping equipment and – most important – a bag of magic flower seeds. Then they head off into the wilds of Africa, following the bird.

And they have some real adventures: they meet many animals – zebras and snakes and ostriches and springbok, and even bats. They come across spiders and scorpions – but no bees. Are they too late?

They get stuck in the mud in a swamp, and come across a crocodile and a hippo. They get caught in a terrible storm, with the wind blowing around their tent like a jet plane.

And eventually they come to a huge hill piled with rocks. There are many paintings of animals on the rock walls. They have found the secret home of the bees – but have they arrived in time to save them?

This is a good story about looking after our world and also about travelling in Africa.

And it has absolutely wonderful bright pictures.

There are hundreds of creatures to spot on the pages, so it could take quite a long time to read all the way through.

The Rainbow’s Heart won Best Children’s Book Publisher Africa at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair earlier this year. WIN WITH JBJ We have five copies of The Rainbow’s Heart to giveaway. To enter the draw to win, SMS your name, physical address and contact details with the keyword Rainbow to 34445 by Monday 2pm. The usual competition rules apply. SMSes cost R1.50 each.