The only difference between fear and courage is hope. This is a fresh and powerful story about one girl's strength of character and her journey of hope. Mulumbe's village is plagued by marauders, and then an elephant eats the last of her family's crop. She determines to save her family, and embarks on an adventure fraught with danger: travelling to the famed City of Gold to be reunited with her brother, Tom, and save her family by earning some money. Grandmother tells her many riddles and it is these life lessons that carry her through the obstacles and dangers she encounters: 'Mulumbe, the river of our ancestors flows most strongly through you. Girl, remember your riddle, real strength is found in those who might be thought to be weak.' This story is in part the Africa we know from TV: famine, unrest and refugee camps. But, it also encapsulates the strength of family and hope, and wonderfully portrays the landscape and animals: elephants, hyenas, hares, Mumbo snakes and honey birds.

 

There are 192 pages in this book. This book was published 2007 by Egmont UK Ltd .

Jonathan Tulloch is the Royal Literary Fellow at Teeside University. He has had several novels published for adults: The Season Ticket, The Bonny Lad, The Lottery, Give Us This Day and The Winding Road. The Season Ticket was released as a major feature film under the title Purely Belter. Jonathan was the recipient of the Betty Trask Prize 2000 and the J. B. Priestley Award in 2004, and was on the TLS list of 20 best young writers. Mr McCool is his second book for children; his first was the highly acclaimed I Am a Cloud, I can Blow Anywhere. He lives in North Yorkshire with his wife, Shirley - also a writer - and their young son. SHIRLEY TULLOCH'S writing is inspired by time she spent in Africa. This included two years of voluntary work with the Tonga people in Zimbabwe, and one year with children from Soweto and other parts of Johannesburg. She now lives in the North East of England and works with children who are not in mainstream education.