Cheeko's African Adventure

By J.D. Hoult and Stuart Thomson

Little green monkey Cheeko loved nothing more than to spend time with his family, particularly his cheeky nephews, Chicky and Mambo.

Cheeko and his family had settled peacefully on top of an extinct volcano following a previous tropical island adventure.

One fine day Cheeko's curiosity gets the better of him and he finds himself in the middle of the Africa Savannah, a long, long way from home.

Cheeko meets lots of characters along the way, he even befriends a little African boy and learns the challenges and struggles the animals face every day.

Whilst on his journey Cheeko teaches the African animals a valuable lesson; that no matter who you are or where you come from you can all unite and become 'stronger together.'

Cheeko longs to be reunited with his family, does he make it home, or does his journey have a frosty ending?

Become a Cheeko Buddy and follow him on his second adventure in Africa. Meet new friends and complete the wildlife quiz at the end of the story.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Feb 23, 2020
• ISBN: 9780244863043

Book preview

Cheeko's African Adventure

Cheeko’s African Adventure

J.D. Hoult

Illustrated by Stuart Thomson

Copyright

Published in 2020 by Lulu.com

Copyright ©Jane Hoult 2020

Cheeko’s Adventure logo ©Jane Hoult 2020

Front cover and illustrations by ©Stuart Thomson 2020

Deer watercolour illustration ©David Hadley 2020

First Edition

ISBN 978-0-244-86304-3

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.

Cheeko main

https://cheekosadventure.com

Dedicated to Cecil the Lion

Cecil

Until one has loved an animal a part of one’s soul remains unawakened. (Anatole France)

Chapter 1 – Splish Splash – Having a Laugh!

GERONIMO shouted the flash of green fur as it hurtled into the water. With an almighty splash it dive‑bombed under the surface and bobbed back up again coughing and spluttering.

THAT WAS FANTASTIC, shrieked the wet fur ball excitedly.

This was just another typical, sunny fun-filled day on the island that little green monkey Cheeko and his family called home.

Cheeko’s family included his mother and father, two brothers and one sister. There was also two new additions to the family, for Cheeko was now Uncle Cheeko to two cheeky little monkey nephews called Chikita, Chicky for short, and Mambo.

Both his nephews had big brown eyes, black tufts on the tops of their heads, long curly tails and green tinted fur, just like their Uncle Cheeko.

The family now lived peacefully on top of an extinct volcano, after fleeing their tropical paradise home.

In their new home a large crater sat where scalding hot lava once erupted from out of the volcano’s centre. Each time the heavens opened fresh rainwater collected in the crater, forming a giant rock pool.

In this giant rock pool lived a lonely little fish called Bob. He was black and orange with a fancy tail. Bob was the only fish in the rock pool. No one knew how he had got there, it was a complete mystery.

Bob would dart in and out of the water all day long. He had the whole pool all to himself, but he longed to be with other fishes. Each day he looked up into the sky and prayed that another fish would plop into the pool to join him.

When it did rain, Bob would frantically swim amongst the rocks. He would jump in the air, right out of the water and back in again, looking to see if another fish had magically joined him. Sadly he was always disappointed.

Bob would never give up hope; his instincts told him that one day a fish mate would join him. Until that time he carried on searching, darting in and out of his magnificent giant rock pool.

Surrounding Bob’s home was a lush rainforest. Its trees and bushes crept down the sides of the volcano, like green custard trickling over a chocolate sponge pudding.

It was an enchanting place, not like any other. Strangely day-by-day the rainforest grew. As if by magic fully grown trees and bushes would appear out of nowhere, bringing with them all creatures of the rainforest. You never knew which species of animal was going to appear next.

Humming birds hovered in front of delicate flowers, collecting nectar with their tongues, as if sucking it through a straw; flapping their wings frantically, as they gathered the sugar rich liquid.

Mongooses foraged and sniffed under rocks in search of their favourite food, the thread snake. This snake was no bigger than a spaghetti noodle and was very hard to find amongst the forest greenery.

The mongooses chattered constantly to one another as they scurried around trying to find the snakes. They all loved a tasty snake noodle sandwich.

Orange butterflies, with white teardrop markings, rested elegantly on blue vine flowers. With a gust of wind they gracefully flew off into the cloudless sky.

Early morning pollen collectors, such as the black bumble bee, sat peacefully amongst pink and yellow flowers.

These stripe less bees looked like they were wearing black fuzzy felt jumpers, as they buzzed off to make their nests.

At night-time whistling frogs sang in chorus with the crickets, filling the hot tropical night with their music. Magical fireflies danced amongst the trees flashing like fluorescent glow sticks against the kaleidoscope sky. Bats carried out their aerobatics to the sound of the delicate chimes.

On a log a tropical lizard raised and waved its arms as if conducting the orchestra, while making squeaking noises to the sound of the funky beat.

It was such a fun place to be and Cheeko’s family had settled quickly into their new home.

Cheeko’s nephews played happily for hours on end. They were far more daring than their uncle. Normally monkeys are afraid of water, but not Chicky and Mambo they loved to splash around.

They would sit on a large banana leaf at the edge of the giant rock pool and skid down the side into the water at fast speed, bouncing as they hit the surface, like a skimming pebble.

These monkey antics would send shockwaves across the whole rock pool, creating a giant wave machine. This was so much fun for Bob; he would dive in and out of the ripples, like a dolphin leaping against the frothy surf.

Chicky and Mambo adored Cheeko, he would tell them stories of his adventures in the big wide world.

At night they would sit next to an open fire listening with their mouths wide open, fascinated by Cheeko’s chatter. They respected him very much and admired his wisdom and were definitely his Cheeko buddies.

Surf Board Monkey

Because Cheeko was Chicky and Mambo’s favourite uncle, he was to teach them traditional monkey survival skills. These skills had been passed down from generation to generation. Chicky and Mambo’s grandfather had taught Cheeko and his brothers and sister. All little monkeys needed to learn them to be able to survive in the wild.

Monkeys are not only intelligent but very curious, adventurous and mischievous. Cheeko knew all too well that being too curious could lead a monkey into danger. They needed to learn to keep their wits about them and not to trust strangers.

One evening, after a fun day of dive-bombing in and out of the water, Cheeko and his nephews were sitting comfortably around a fire. Cheeko telling them tales of his