Just got this fab review from Alice Berger of the esteemed Berger Reviews in the USA:

That’s me handing a 500 pound cheque to Grainne McEntee of Borneo Orangutan Survival in London this week - money from the proceeds of Monkey Magic! Grainne and her colleagues in Indonesia and Europe work tirelessly to help rehabilitate orangutans, with about 900 apes under their care. Considering there are just 40,000 or so left in the world, that’s a large chunk of the population. Grainne and Aaron Reid told me about an exciting project to release orphaned orangutans into the wild this year. Every donation counts, so thanks everyone for buying Monkey Magic - a great read (I hope) and a great cause (without doubt).

I’m very excited because I just got the cover for part two of the Monkey Magic series. I love it, so special thanks to Leng, the illustrator. What do you think? Monkey Magic: The Great Wall Mystery will be released in Asia in September and in Europe and the USA a little bit later in the year. Everybody who has read it so far says the same thing: it’s even better than The Curse of Mukada! I hope you agree!

MMII Cover!

Many thanks to 12-year-old Melanie in Mumbai, India, for this great picture and great review! 

“I really loved this amazing book! I couldn’t take my eyes off it from the start! My favourite book!!”

Congratulations to the prize winners in the Monkey Magic TV competition. Tammy (Singapore), Anna (England), Tanja (Singapore), Aaron (USA) and Harry (Singapore) will receive a signed copy of Monkey Magic: The Curse of Mukada. Thanks to everyone for your entries. Good news, especially for me: I have nearly finished Monkey Magic: The Great Wall Mystery. I aim to put the last full stop on the page before Christmas Day.  

“A beautifully written tale of good vs. evil that will inspire its readers to join the fight to save the orangutan and help save the earth too!” National Geographic Kids

Monkey Magic will appear in the January issue of NG Kids UK!

I just put the title of the next book to the vote at United World College in Singapore; almost unanimous agreement on Monkey Magic: The Great Wall Mystery. Thanks to Mrs Ziemer for arranging a fun visit and to the hundred or so great kids who asked very astute questions.

Don’t forget; you can win a signed copy of The Curse of Mukada by entering the competition on MMTV. The competition closes December 15th. Lastly, congratulations to the winners of the Sumatran Orangutan Society competition: Helen Thompson, Rosie Phillips and Christina Cosgrove. A signed copy is heading their way. In case you don’t know, SOS is an amazing charity set up by Lucy Wisdom to help the fewer than 10,000 remaining orangutans on the island of Sumatra.

Watch Monkey Magic TV to find out how you can win a signed copy of Monkey Magic - The Curse of Mukada.

Click on Zig above or this link to go to the youtube page for Monkey Magic TV.

Singapore’s River Valley Primary School has become the first school in the world to make Monkey Magic part of its curriculum. Everyone in year three will get to read and study the book. My feelings about this can be summed up by the below picture. By the way, Romy’s next adventure will be called Monkey Magic: The Great Wall Mystery and I am a couple of months away from finishing it.

When I first talked about this with my kids, they were most concerned that the orangutan would insist on sleeping in the top bunk every night. When I explained that the orangutan would stay in its natural habitat, they were much more into the idea. Adopting an orangutan is a great way of helping one of the thousands of apes that have lost their home. Click on this page to find how to do it in your country.

Congratulations to the five winners of signed copies of Monkey Magic from the Borneo Orangutan Survival appeal for funds to help 100 apes return to the wild. They are Krystyna Newberry, Gemma Ellis, Lecia Foston, Gillian Flack and Julie Boadle. Enjoy the book!

The first one is from an Discovery article saying that scientists studying tickling (how do you get that job?) reckon that primates have evolved laughing over 10 to 15 million years. Some of my jokes are certainly that old. The muddy orangutan is from a great story about a rare discovery of orangutans swimming through crocodile infested waters.

And this cute chap is from the World Society for the Protection of Animals website.

I saw an interesting (and complicated)  BBC story showing that scientists worked out the benefit of keeping rainforests outweighs the money that companies make chopping it down. Like that wasn’t obvious. But the point is they are trying to work out a system whereby companies can be paid not to tear it down. Whatever works.

Borneo Orangutan Survival is raising $100,000 to help 100 orangutans return to the wild. The Freedom Mosiac Appeal works by people donating 10 pounds to buy a tile in the mosaic, but there is a possible bonus.

FREE COPIES OF MONKEY MAGIC!!

Five of the tiles have a secret copy of the book, a bit like the gold tickets in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. If you or your parents might be interested, go to the Mosaic website.

If you’d like to write a review of Monkey Magic on Amazon UK, click on this. To pen a review on Amazon USA, click here. Go on! Have a go!

If you’d like to sign up to the Monkey Magic Facebook page, click on this :

Monkey Magic goes on sale on Amazon UK from May 17 for 5.59 pounds. It will be on Amazon USA from June 10 and will also be in Brit and American book stores in the next few weeks. Click on this link for the Amazon Monkey Magic pages.

Mega-thanks to British screenwriter Tony Grounds and his daughter for their fab feedback on the book. “Loved it! It’s terrific. Floss is demanding the next one.”

I’d better get a move on…well after a quick hula…

Here’s an article by Rebecca Lynne Tan and a picture by Nuria Lang that appeared in today’s Straits Times in Singapore.

Naming the girl in his book proved a tricky task for Grant Clark who had to please both his daughters

He eventually settled on Romy, a cross between the names of his daughters Rosie, eight, and Amy, 10. And all was well in the Clark household.

The book is about a young British girl who goes on an adventure with several talking orang utans, only to learn about the plight of the orang utan habitat in Borneo.

Monkey Magic has struck a chord with its young fans since the book’s release earlier this year.

‘A group of kids chased after me and hugged me, demanding a sequel,’ says Clark, a Singapore-based sports journalist with an international news agency, who gave a talk about his book at the United World College recently.

The inspiration for his book came in April 2007 when he was on holiday at the Bako National Park in Sarawak with his family.

His daughters begged him for a bedtime story so he came up with one, which was based on their stuffed proboscis monkey Robbie.

He penned down the idea and two years later, the book was born.

But underlying the whimsical tale of talking orang utans are deeper issues of deforestation and logging that continue to destroy the orang utan habitat in Borneo.

Clark says: ‘I haven’t been a conservationist all my life but I have always cared about the issues. It’s a good way to get people thinking about what’s going on around them.’

He adds: ‘This is my way of doing that and as a writer, this is what I can do to spread the word.’

Congratulations to 10-year-old Isabella Wilson! She won Auckland Zoo’s Young Conservationist of the Year award for her campaign to highlight the role of palm oil in the destruction of the orangutan’s habitat. ”She is a shining example of how people with passion and drive can really make a difference,” said Auckland Zoo conservation officer Peter Fraser. I’m sending Alison a copy of Monkey Magic to show my admiration.

A shocking new report says more orangutans are being traded as pets now than in the 1970s. The reason is that police are not charging people who get caught, so there’s no reason for them to stop, according to TRAFFIC, which tracks illegal wildlife trade.

“Indonesia has adequate laws but, without serious penalties, this illegal trade will continue and these species will continue to spiral towards extinction, says TRAFFIC’s Chris R. Shepherd.

About 2,000 orangutans have been confiscated or turned in by private owners in Indonesia in 30 years. Remember, there are just 8,000 orangutans left in Sumatra. It’s about time Indonesia got serious and punished law-breakers who subject tree-dwelling apes to a cruel and solitary life in a cage.

A Confiscated Orangutan

People keep asking me when the sequel is coming out. That’s a sign that i’d better get a move on and start scribbling. The adventure is in my head and those of you who have read the Curse of Mukada should be able to work out where the story will be set. Another clue. I think the title will be Monkey Magic - The Great Wall Mystery. If all goes to plan, Romy will have five or six adventures in all. 

The Great Wall Mystery?