The third of Lauren St John's heartwarming White Giraffe series, in which Martine and Ben must save the world's rarest leopard.

Martine is looking forward to the holidays and riding Jemmy, her white giraffe, until an accident sends her and Ben on a journey to the Matobo Hills wilderness in Zimbabwe. It is a lawless land, where nothing is as it seems. When they uncover a plot in which the fate of a magnificent leopard and the lost treasure of an African King are mysteriously linked, their friendship faces its greatest test.

Far from home and the help of Grace and Tendai, and with Gwyn Thomas languishing, under false accusations, in jail, Martine and Ben must use every survival skill they possess.

They'll come face to face with Griffin, Mercy, Mr Ratcliffe (known as Rat), Magnus the hornbill, and a witch doctor, not to mention Khan, the last leopard. They must decide who their friends and enemies really are as they race against time to save the world's rarest leopard and each other.

This third African adventure is written with all the zest and skill that have endeared so many readers to THE WHITE GIRAFFE and DOLPHIN SONG.

Third African adventure for Martine and her magical white giraffe, in which Martine and Ben must save the world's rarest leopard.

About the Author
Lauren St John grew up surrounded by horses, cats, dogs and a pet giraffe on a farm and game reserve in Zimbabwe, the inspiration for her bestselling White Giraffe and One Dollar Horse series, as well as her YA horse novel, The Glory. Dead Man's Cove, the first in her Laura Marlin Mystery series, won the Blue Peter Book of the Year Award. Before becoming a children's author, she worked as a journalist for The Sunday Times, writing about sports, music and spies. Along with her veterinary nursing training, it served as perfect research for her Kat Wolfe mystery series and The Snow Angel, a standalone MG novel. A passionate conservationist, Lauren is an Ambassador for the Born Free Foundation, a patron for horse sanctuary, Mane Chance, and the founder of Authors4Oceans. When not rescuing leopards and dolphins, she is a full-time valet to her rescued, and not in the least demanding, Bengal cat, Max. To find out more, visit her website at www.laurenstjohn.com David Dean studied illustration at Manchester Metropolitan University and has been working as an illustrator since 1999. He has to date created covers for nearly 40 books including Lauren St. John's THE WHITE GIRAFFE and DOLPHIN SONG (both Orion), as well as many other illustrations for books, magazines, CDs, posters and advertisements. He lives (with his cat) in Cheshire.

Reviews
this is a vivid adventure, mostly because St John, who grew up in Zimbabwe, has captured its blend of menace and allure * THE OBSERVER *
...spellbinding... another magical, compelling adventure * THE ROAR *


Awards
Short-listed for Independent Booksellers' Week Book of the Year Award: Children's Book of the Year 2010.



Book Information
ISBN 9781842556672
Author Lauren St John
Format Paperback
Page Count 224
Imprint Orion Children's Books
Publisher Hachette Children's Group
Weight(grams) 180g
Dimensions(mm) 196mm * 128mm * 24mm