New Release
codex369.com is excited to announce the launch of 'Crazy Kipper and the Magic Hat' by debut author Francis Smith, a brilliantly told story entirely in written rhyme and wonderfully illustrated by Ross Hendrix.
Paperback edition is now available HERE
Kindle edition is now available on Amazon HERE
“Crazy Kipper And The Magic Hat” is a wonderfully illustrated and engaging story written in rhyme for older children. It confronts many of the serious issues that the Earth is facing right now from plastic waste, pollution and deforestation to hunting, whaling and extinction, and makes us take a hard look at ourselves.
Fun, adventure, magic, and hard-hitting truths all go hand-in-hand in this exciting, yet thought-provoking story told through the eyes of a fish as the Crazy Kipper visits man in search of an answer to save his home, Kipper Town, and the Great Kipper Clan.
Can Crazy talk to the humans and make them understand the damage they are doing to the planet? As the story unfolds, it shows us a glimpse into a frightening future which is no longer just the stuff of dystopian science fiction novels.
If you and your children love rhyme, an engaging story and if you are concerned about the environment, then this book is for you.
“Sent to find the answer, sent to save the clan,
sent to find another home and maybe talk to man.
To ask him why we need to die, us creatures of the sea,
it won’t be long before we’re gone, as any fool can see.”
Introduction
Mother Earth has circled the sun over 90 million times through the stardust of space since the first kippers appeared in the mighty oceans. They live side by side with all creatures. Their numbers were as many as the grains of sand on the largest of the beaches, but over the course of the last few hundred years humans have pursued them, and all the creatures living on land and in the sea have suffered greatly; some already gone forever, some near extinction. The humans do not seem to understand that Earth was not given to them – it was given to all of us. Not to destroy it but to take care of it, to love it, protect it. This is our only home! We have nowhere else to go, but the humans are not listening! This is the story of Crazy, the mightiest of kippers who was born to save the world and educate the humans before it’s too late.
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Inside the book: Crazy on dry land
Here lay the kipper, a fish on dry land,
but sucking in air with lungs that expand!
This secret gift from the Great Kipper Clan,
allowed all the kippers to visit the land.
He flipped and he flopped, then he stood up,
he was feeling a little bit frail,
with a twist and a turn, he started to learn,
to balance on the tip of his tail.
He staggered to the left, he staggered to the right,
now standing tall, what an awesome sight!
There was a wonderous look on his face,
and the widest smile you ever did see,
he had a twinkle in his eye that you could not buy,
for the price of a lobster tea.
Inside the book: Uncle Blaze
Uncle Blaze was a fearless fish, it was once said that he had visited land,
‘The place where humans dwell is not for fish’ he would often tell the clan.
He swam along the sandy shore, one bright and sunny day,
looking for trouble, with his head in a muddle, to make the humans pay.
He saw a man on the sand, sitting on a chair,
he had a fish on a dish, wriggling in despair.
He took the fish from the dish, now dangling in his hand,
then banged his head on a rock, and put him in a pan.
Uncle Blaze was full of rage, with two prawns in his hands,
he approached the shore with deadly stealth, now closer to the land.
What to say, what to do? His mind was in a flutter,
revenge he sought, for the death, of his little fishy brother.
With his eyes fixed coldly on the man, he crept along the beach,
the prawns were drawn in his hands, now not too far to reach.
He let one go with deadly force, towards the killer’s head,
it struck him on the temple, and the killer’s face turned red.
As anger brewed inside that face, a vein popped from his neck,
then up he jumped and grabbed the pan, this kipper he would wreck.
He chased the fish across the beach, but Blaze dived in the surf,
then flipped his tail with all his might, and swam for all he’s worth.
Now safe beneath the ocean waves, he smugly swam away,
this fearless fish, alive and well, to fight another day.
Inside the book: Freedom
Most of the creatures now live in the zoo,
put on display for people to view.
Locked in a cage from morning till night,
they stare at the walls all full of fright.
With metal doors and concrete floors,
no hope of seeing the great outdoors.
With a sodium light that’s far too bright,
they can’t tell the difference between day and night!
Sad and depressed, they cry out for their mums,
but their cries are in vain as she never comes.
Just a plastic bottle with a rubber teat,
and if they’re good, a biscuit for a treat.