Hammie and the Lost Princess of Koh Ang Thong

by Marion Halliday, Peter Steyn

Chakrit, a boy from Bangkok, travels to a tropical island in southern Thailand to celebrate his special birthday and to camp near the beach.He goes alone because his best friend Lizzy, a dancing gecko who loves mozzie burgers, can't join him.Goggles, his new monkey friend on the island, calls him "Hammie" because he enjoys relaxing in his hammock. She tells him about the island's missing princess and future queen, Princess Gekkie. Without Gekkie to take over, the evil lizards and mosquitoes will rule the islands when the gecko King and Queen die.Goggles also tells Hammie that the royal geckos want to ask someone from the big city to help find their daughter. Before he can meet them, however, he must pass three challenging tests to show his bravery. Goggles assures Hammie that she and his new friends Lekkie the leech, Sally the snake, and Billy the hornbill, will assist him to complete the tests.Under orders from Gingga, the fierce leader of the evil lizards, Sting and his mosquito army keep attacking Hammie and his new friends to stop him from completing the tests. He must stay brave and strong because if he is unsuccessful, he won't meet the King and Queen and help them find the princess.When a mozzie burger mysteriously appears at his birthday picnic, Hammie and his friends wonder how it got there.As Hammie completes the tests, and gets closer to meeting the gecko King and Queen, nothing prepares him for the secret that will be revealed!The story has several messages for our young, and not-so-young, readers.