Dude's Gotta Snowboard

"Good for children comfortable reading longer books on their own."

For ages 8-12 years.

Magali: a shy French marmot who can't resist her funny mountain mates and their crazy, nocturnal, sports adventures!

Magali gets thrown out of hibernation and into a world of snowboarding! Why? Because Puppy Bébé went digging for cherries and dug her out without realising it.

'Cherries?' asked Chamois Luc.

Puppy Bébé nodded.

'Maybe you dug out some sleeping animals too, huh?'

The puppy shook his head. 'Nah!'

Henri Le Hare slapped his paws to his helmet. 'Dude, your brain's not right! You had too many crashes last season. I think you did something to your head that time. Keep your helmet on, please.'

The group of animals promise to return Magali to her burrow that very night, after they finish snowboarding. They leave her with Mishka, a beginner boarder rabbit. Then, at the end of the night, Mishka and Magali wait for the animals to come. They wait, and wait, and wait.

Forgotten, Magali must rely on her new best friend for shelter and support.

Each night, the two friends go out and look for the group of animals. At the same time, they learn to snowboard together.

Eventually, Magali does run into the group again (Henri Le Hare, F-F-Foxy, Little Foxy, Puppy Bébé, and Chamois Luc), and this time, they introduce her to the Snowpark. Kickers, jumps, the halfpipe! Too much fun. The marmot is in less of a hurry to get home. Besides, the annual Ride Or Die Slalom Competition is coming up. Animals from all over France are coming to participate. And, her new mates have entered her!

Magali starts to think big. But, the snow and the forest are unpredictable. You can't always know what's coming ahead!

A middle grade book series about unexpected friendships, trusting instinct, and learning independence!

•The books have British spelling.
•For ages 8 to 12 years old.
•Set in La Plagne, Savoie, French Alps.
•Each book can be read as an individual book or as part of the series.
•Available in English, French, Spanish + bilingual versions (English / français) (English / español).

Question for the Author
How did you come up with the character of Magali?
'You know, I really love the French Alps, and looking at all the animals that live in the mountains. I'm Australian, so I had never seen a marmot before moving to France. I worked one summer, for a kids' summer camp, and part of my job was to take the children out on walks. We would go looking for marmots, all of us being very quiet, secretly sneaking up to the holes in the ground, where the entrances to the marmot burrows were. Of course, we would make too much noise and the marmots would disappear into their underground tunnels, but sometimes we were lucky and able to take photos. I think their underground homes took over my imagination, and before you knew it, I had a whole chapter book in my head, with Magali as the principal character!'