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“An educational experience disguised as a

wonderful adventure.”

 

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“I enjoyed the extensive use of dialogue. It is a great means of revealing human qualities in what is essentially a human story.”

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​“Historical fiction at its best: a gripping odyssey that educates.” ​

 

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“An essential addition for young readers and classrooms alike, this book brings prehistoric life to vivid reality.”​

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“A great adventure’ with a history lesson thrown in.”

In prehistoric times, twins are about to begin the trek into adulthood and face the dangers of wild animals , food shortages and climate change.

First Steps from Africa: Sunda & Sahul

by

Andrew Colman

 

This story is based on history, about twelve-year-old twins, a girl and a boy, 90,000 years ago, when their tribe is forced to make life changing decisions to stay alive.  Learn how they face the dangers of climate change and the desperate challenges of wild animals.

On the edge of becoming adults our two main characters participate in important decisions on how to survive. They meet and be-friend another tribe, learn new ideas, overcome rogue elephants and giant crocodiles.

Eventually, both groups mix then separate in two different directions. Sahul’s group decide to head south to warmer climates, while Sunda’s group head north to hunt mammoths in the snow.

The adventure story gives readers insights into the historical facts of the time, the heartache and the challenges our ancestors once faced and how they overcame them.

Written for middle grade readers (8-14yo) and others. Re-live the experiences and actions of children of a similar age, thousands of years ago.

 

Find out -

  • Why did our distant ancestors leave Africa tens of thousands of years ago?

  • Where did they go? How did they get there?

  • When and why did we invent shoes?

  • What clothes did we wear back then? What did we eat?

  • How did we make clothes when there were no sewing needles or wool?

  • How did twelve-year-old twins, Sunda and Sahul help their people deal with climate change, savage animals and other challenges?

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Sunda & Sahul – other books to follow.

 

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Book Two: The Crossing - Many generations after the parting, Sahul and her group head south to warmer climes. They have trekked through India, reaching the islands of Indonesia where Sahul discovers how to make bamboo rafts as they prepare to cross to Australia. 70,000 BCE. Planned release - November 2026

 

Book Three: The Long Trek North - After the parting in Iran, Sunda and his group follow the game and it gets colder as they trek north. They have developed the ‘throwing stick’ and hunt mammoth, they fight off cave lions, learn how to build houses to withstand the Ice Age cold and meet a new tribe of people. 55,000 BCE. Planned release - February  2027.

 

Book Four: The Land of the Rainbow Serpent - Having crossed to Australia, Sahul’s people have expanded across the continent, developing their customs and cultural practices and different roles for men and women. Now they hunt the giant marsupial animals of Australia which are slowly becoming extinct. 40,000 BCE. Planned release - August  2027.

 

Book Five: Towards the Setting Sun – Sunda is now in central Europe, with new tools; they hunt reindeer, and make needles to sew warmer clothes. They experience perhaps the first territorial clash and violence with another group. Sunda and his wolf-dog, Kanor, team up with the tribe being chased, who show Sunda’s tribe how to paint hunting scenes on cave walls. 30,000 BCE. Planned release - January 2028.

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Resources for Teachers:

 

  • General questions for each story in the series:

  1. How did humans live back then?

  2. What did we wear for clothes, shoes?

  3. Did we have houses?

  4. What were the dangers in the environment?

  5. How did we overcome them?

  6. How did we deal with other groups, strange people and animals? Friendly or not?

  7. Do you think this changed over time?

  8. What did we make?

  9. How did we learn stuff?

  10. What did we eat?

  11. How did we get our food?

  12. How did we adapt to changing climates?

  13. What were the family relationships like?

  14. What has each group learned?

  15. What could the last group do that the previous group couldn’t or didn’t have to?

 

Exercises for “First Steps from Africa.

  • First Steps from Africa – (10- to 14-year-olds)

 

  • 20x short answer questions: click here

  • Essay writing exercise: click here

 

  • First Steps from Africa – (8–12-year-olds)

 

  • Colouring in exercise – 3 options: click here

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