Three different story flavours!

Historical – Coming Home

Harry Barton and his horse Blaze are the best of mates. They do everything together on the family farm. Checking fences, finding lost sheep or shooting pigs. An even bigger adventure is calling. Harry has enlisted to fight in the Boer War in South Africa and he’s taking sure-footed, courageous Blaze with him.

The unthinkable happens and they are separated, both wondering where the other can be?

Told in both Harry and Blaze’s viewpoint, this story will tug at your heartstrings. Bullets are flying, they are far from home, and missing their best mate. Will they ever see each other again?

Fantastical – I Wish

Trent isn’t looking forward to going to his new school. Moving into his new home with his mum hasn’t been much fun either. His computer hasn’t turned up from the movers and a random box of books has been mixed up with their stuff.

With nothing else to do, he begins to look through the books. This is when he meets Gene, a small, green, mohawked and very rude creature inside one of the books. He is a book elf, and has been imprisoned inside this one book because of his bad behaviour. SLOB (Scary Lords to Book Elves), are his bosses, and the only way out is to be polite, helpful and good.

Even Trent can see this is a big ask, but he quickly makes a deal with Gene. If he helps him look cool at his new school, he’ll be pleasing his bosses at the same time. What could go wrong?

This is a clever, funny story of wishes, fitting in and finding out who you are and what you’re good at. Is Gene the Book Elf actually helping or not? See if you can match up the Book Titles mentioned with David Hill’s own novels?

Sci Fi – Strange Meeting

Long ago, Dinosaurs ruled the Earth – until a meteor slammed into it. Now, humans rule the Earth and space exploration has been important for many years.

Sophie, nick-named Rocket Girl by her class, loves anything to do with space. Both her parents work at the local Mahoe Launch Site where the Neptune 3 Rocket is being prepared for its orbit around the sun. Excitement is high, as the launch is in 10 days time. At least, most of her class are excited.

Pita scowls at Sophie’s mission updates and she finally asks him why. His koro believes rockets are bad for the Earth and we should care for it better. Strange things begin happening at the base, and even stranger at Pita’s house.

Suddenly the entire world is in shock. A meteor even bigger than the one that wiped out the dinosaurs and triggered The Ice Age, is coming their way. They have only one chance to save the Earth.

Three Scoops has saved the best for last. Strange Meeting is a story of latest technology and a force as old as time. Tension builds quickly in this story, first between Sophie and Pita with opposite views of space exploration, then the entire planet is under threat. Scrambling to find a solution, the Launch Site becomes the focus of the whole world… with time quickly running out.

Three stories from multi award winning and much loved author David Hill. These stories are as different as Chocolate ice cream is to Vanilla, but are all entertaining and long enough to be class or home read-alouds.

Coming Home will appeal to anyone who loved the classic animal tale The Incredible Journey, and if you needed tissues for that one, you should have some handy. I Wish will make you laugh out loud, especially the ti-shirts that a book elf might wear. Strange Meeting will leave you intrigued and with a racing heart. It got me thinking – What if a meteor was hurtling towards Earth? What would you do?

Author – David Hill

Illustrator – Lisa Allen

Age – 10+

(2021, One Tree House, Novellas, Historical, Fantasy, Sci Fi, Boer War, Horse, Courage, Family, Wishes, School, New home, Magical Creature, Humour, Funny, Self-Belief, Writing, Story, Rocket, Maori, Space, Meteor, NZ Author, New Zealand, Secret, Science)