CHILDREN’S BOOK OF THE MONTH:
Take your child on an adventure with Zoe Verner’s new book.
Following in the footsteps of renowned Richmond upon Thames thriller writer Gerald Verner, his granddaughter Zoe Verner published her first children’s novel ‘The Adventures of Izzy and Columbus -Nakamomo Island’ which was officially released in March 2020.
Gerald Verner was a prolific writer of thrillers and published more than 80 original novels worldwide from the 1930’s through to the 1960’s, many of which are available from Amazon today.
Zoe was working on this wonderful book for over three years. It first started out as a side project, but soon took on a life of its own which she couldn’t stop thinking and writing about. There are four books in total… three more exciting stories to follow with Izzy and the gang!
As Zoe always loved ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ and ‘Labyrinth’ growing up, she wanted to write a fantastical adventure story because who doesn’t love a good adventure! The story is set in the vibrant and magical jungle in Costa Rica, where she spent some time a few years ago and was fascinated by all the luminous colours and adorable animals.
This thrilling story is aimed at ages 8-12 and is also a great one to read to younger kids… a bit of escapism for parents too.
Wanting it to have an extra magical feel about it, Zoe has added sixteen wonderful colour illustrations including a map of ‘Nakamomo Island’ and a secret recipe! The beautiful artwork was created by an incredible artist she came across online called Marta Maszkiewicz. Zoe was so impressed with her talent and absolutely thrilled when Marta happily agreed to work with her on her book.
Columbus, Zoe’s gorgeous dog, has been given a starring role. Just like Izzy in the book, Zoe and Columbus are inseparable. Columbus is right by her side as she writes her stories… some may say he’s the perfect writing buddy! For a bit of fun, Zoe also based some of the characters names on good friends: Alex the toucan, Martin the monkey and Eerie Mr Niri.
Zoe is currently writing the second instalment of the series which she hopes will be out next year so stay tuned!
‘The Adventures of Izzy and Columbus – Nakamomo Island’ is available through Waterstones and Amazon.
If you want to see more of Zoe and Columbus follow her on https://www.instagram.com/zoe.verner
You may also enjoy https://darlingmagazine.co.uk/feature/richmond-lit-fest-6-27-november/
