Are you looking for a hilarious, heartwarming adventure novel to spark your child's imagination, inspire a love of reading, and connect them with nature? Look no further than The Hills Kids!
Follow the lovable underdog Archie, sharp-witted Pippa, goofball Ollie, and their scruffy dog Kimba on a thrilling mission to solve a ginormous problem in the Australian wilderness. This timeless story showcases nature's beauty and the power of friendship. From wild billycart races to exotic creatures, secret grass tunnels and a bushfire, The Hills Kids offers a journey filled with laughter, suspense, and heart.
The novel is perfect for children aged 8 to 12 and reading aloud as a family (7-year-olds also love the story). Share in giggles and excitement while bonding with your loved ones over this tale of friendship, courage, compassion, community, and the underdog. Witness your child's love of reading soar as they become immersed in the imaginative world of The Hills Kids.
Written and illustrated by two-time British Academy Award-winning film sound designer Gareth Vanderhope, The Hills Kids is inspired by his childhood memories in the Dandenong Ranges, Australia. Using his sound design experience, Vanderhope harnesses the sonic qualities of words to create atmospheric worlds within the imagination. Children and adults alike will delight in experiencing the exotic sounds of Australian wildlife, such as the famous lyrebird call and laughing kookaburras, artfully woven into the text.
The Hills Kids explores exciting themes loved by children worldwide - solving mysteries, picking wild food, crazy adventures, exploring nature, building things, kooky characters, and having fun! Introducing kids to inspirational books during the golden age for reading (ages 6 to 12) is a crucial time for fostering a lifelong love of reading. Reading for pleasure improves creative thinking, emotional intelligence, concentration, empathy, literacy, vocabulary, and numeracy. The Hills Kids is a perfect gateway to the wondrous world of books and reading.
What do the hills kids discover in the forest?
The friends continue in a slow crawl, pressing their hands and knees gently on the fungusy forest floor to avoid stick cracks or leaf crunches that will scare the creature away. Goosebumps sprinkle over Pippa's arms from the cold gully air. She pauses behind the ferns and parts two fronds, revealing a scratched earth clearing and a dirt mound. Everyone freezes in excitement and awe...
Order your copy of The Hills Kids today and join Archie, Pippa, Ollie, and Kimba on their hilarious and wondrous adventures in nature and their community.
Vanderhope, Gareth: - Gareth Vanderhope is an internationally acclaimed storyteller through sound. A two-time BAFTA winner, his sonic wizardry has reached millions of people worldwide via films including Babe 1 & 2, Shine, Baz Luhrmann's Romeo and Juliet, Moulin Rouge and the Quiet American. As a writer, Gareth uses his sound design experience to harness the sonic qualities of words and letters as storytelling devices and to create atmospheric worlds within the imagination. Also an award-winning health educator, Gareth's writing explores the environmental and cultural influences of kids' food choices, behaviour and development. Born in Melbourne, Australia, Gareth grew up in the Dandenong Ranges during the 1970s. His free-spirited childhood, coupled with an eclectic, creative community and wild environment, inspire the wacky, fun and exciting themes in The Hills Kids book series. Now living in the Northern Rivers of New South Wales with his wife and two daughters, Gareth writes and illustrates in between teaching, cooking and adventuring with his family.
