This is one of our favourite South African authors and we have reviewed plenty of his books before.
He is prolific and writes in almost every single genre of children’s book… English and Afrikaans, poetry and short stories, jokes and novels, he literally covers everything.
Teen Read
Taking Selfies with a Sheep
Taking selfies with a Sheep is the loveliest, most heart warming South African story, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is the story of a young man, Luke, who gets into serious trouble at school. Before he sinks any further, his parents send him off on a road trip with his granny, to the heart of the Karoo… basically the middle of nowhere. No phone, no contact with his friends, and with his grandmother, that he hardly knows. Needless to say, he decides from the start that he will not talk to his grandmother, and he will definitely not enjoy the trip…
And then, on the very first day of the trip he bumps into Emma, who’s Dad is cycling his way across the country to raise awareness for Cancer. From pit-stop to pit-stop they are destined to connect and meet up. What you wouldn’t expect is that when they see a very sad and lost looking sheep at a farm market, Luke decides to “rescue” the sheep… and then the story really begins. Luke realises that the wrong crowd is just that, there is more to his granny than he ever imagined and road trips are not the worst way to spend your school holidays.
Short chapters, easy reading, humorous and perfect for that reluctant high school reader that needs a quick read, it’s a great story to pull them through. Definitely one of my favourite Jaco Jacobs stories ever.
Short Stories
The Worst Restaurant in the Universe
This is a collection of short stories… perfect for class room reading or anytime you need a read aloud story for your class…
The illustrations in this book are phenomenal, and really caught my eye. A wonderful collection covering themes from bullying to aliens, funny to sad, there is a story for everyone. Great, short and distinct stories… each of them with their own collection of characters. This is a generally fun read and good for children who launching from picture rich chapter books to middle grade reads.
Science Stories
Jaco Jacobs Professor Fungus Omnibus 3
This was my favourite kind of book as a child, a collection of books within a book. This is a collection of five Afrikaans stories about an eccentric scientist, Professor Fungus. Each book within the book is about eight chapters long, and all the stories are science related.
At the end of each “book” there is a science experiment, using materials found around the house, so very easy to implement. The experiments bring a hands on component to the story and give the eager young reader something to look forward to. The stories are about regular children, with big imaginations, and their everyday adventures.
Science Facts
Sal ‘n Skilpad op jou piepie?
Oh my goodness, this is the “fact collector’s” ultimate dream book. It is a small book packed with a load of incredible and amazing animal facts. From hyenas to hippos, and everything in between. Every page is absolutely loaded with questions and answers… and even bonus facts. This is a great little book and extremely giftable.
Jokes Galore!!!
101 School Jokes
Joke books are the bane of many parent’s hearts, but I tell you the truth, these books are often the books that get kids reading and then keep them reading. If you are looking for some fun relaxing time with your kids and you really can’t face reading a chapter book with them… start with a joke book. Together you will entertain each other for hours and create fond memories. These four books are great for starting a joke book collectin, full of funny funnies and then loads of funnier jokes, I love the South African flavour to these jokes… there is nothing like a joke about an aardvark or a ostrich… fun books, great for road trips and fabulous easy reading.
These books were given to us for review purposes by Penguin Random House South Africa and Lapa Publishers. This is not a sponsored post and opinions expressed are entirely our own.