Brief

When a tiny relative of the giraffe on a rite of passage adventure must survive a 500 mile life or death adventure across the Serengeti Plains alongside the thundering herds, he stretches his resolve to help a friend.

What We Liked

- The rite of passage premise featuring a tiny fictional animals on the mighty Serengeti is a terrific concept;
- The story has potential to be adapted in a beautiful feature film. The astonishing setting of the Serengeti and awe-inspiring migration of the wonderful creatures inhabiting it creates the kind of sweeping climatic story that lends itself quite easily to the big screen. The charming animal characters are surely bound to find their way into the hearts of children everywhere;
- A series could be built upon the exploration of exotic locales as well as the fantastical journeys of Jaspa, the Giraffeses;
- Key points: Lovely premise; Charming characters; Family friendly; Empowerment of young people; Exotic setting.

Synopsis

Jaspa is a Giraffeses, a teeny, tiny distant relative of the giraffe that are invisible to humans. He and his brother Bisckits set out to fulfill a rite-of-passage known as the Journey. They must join the Great Migration on Africa's Serengeti Plain, accompanying the two million animals that are forced yearly to embark on this desperate, dangerous, 500 mile struggle for survival.

Along the way, Jaspa is spotted by a young boy named Ben. He is from Scotland and on safari with his family. However, he is sad because he has lost his best friend, Gravee, who happens to be a Dogses, a tiny distant relative of the dog.

Ben is a Seer, a human who is able to see Ses. Jaspa is astonished because he thought Seers were only for legends.

During a river crossing, Jaspa and Bisckits are nearly killed. They are saved by a Ngorika, a Vultureses and Nippee, a Crocodileses, respectively. While they are recovering from their ordeal, Gravee wanders into their camp. When Jaspa hears his story, he realizes that Ben is the friend Gravee is desperately missing.

The animals band together to help. They fly on the backs of vultures to get Gravee to the airport so he can be reunited with Ben back in Scotland. Jaspa and his pals accompany Gravee to the UK where he is happily reunited with Ben.

About The Author

Rich is the fingertips behind everything associated with Jaspa’s Journey, a series of travel-based adventure novels for pre-teens and anyone who’s still young at heart. In reality, the whole writing thing was his wife’s idea - she suggested Rich should use his spare time to write a book, and proposed Jaspa, a plush giraffe Rich had given her when they first started dating, as the main character. So far Jaspa’s adventures comprise three books, with two more on the way. Born in Wales, Rich developed a fascination in Geography, History and the environment at an early age, interests which culminated in a PhD from the University of Cambridge (UK) and a post-doctorate at the University of Waterloo (Canada). He subsequently worked for four years as an environmental scientist in Weimar, Germany. During his scientific career, Rich wrote and contributed to a myriad of journal papers and books, but hopes Jaspa’s Journey is a little less dry.