Ideal for curing backseat boredom and feeding hungry minds, 'A River Safari: A Young Explorer's Guide to an African River' is a must-have for the travelling family, but is also a fascinating resource for those geography projects and last-minute classroom orals.

Thoroughly researched and beautifully presented, this collage of bushveld knowledge for children covers everything you could think of to keep your kids entertained in the bush within 60 glossy pages.

Short, easy-to-read sections are perfect for those young attention spans, while photographs of plants and wildlife, interspersed with simple, effective drawings and diagrams serve to bring the bush alive for readers, young and old alike.

In fact, when the kids drop off, it's not hard to imagine mom and dad stealing a glimpse and trading tidbits in the front seat.

The book goes beyond providing basic species identification info and the proverbial pointers on how to track a baby buffalo (though it does this well, too), it offers insight into the different games played by baby animals (from hide-and-seek to pin-the-tail), why "tree decorations" like lichen are so important, how to make music with wild fruit, and helping conserve fragile wetlands.

Activities like guessing the ages of antelopes from the size of their horns and spotting the carnivore, to handy camping hints like using the inside of fruits as pot scourers, will impress mom and dad. Meanwhile, diagrams on how to make a windmill from palm fronds and acacia thorns, and how to play amagende (all you need is two players and five round stones) will keep them busy for hours, leaving you time chill out at the water's edge.

Though the emphasis on conservation is always there, the main focus is on fun and provided all is cleaned up at sunset (especially those paper-made water canoes on page 51 ? fleets of piled-up paper ships spring to mind...), this book is an invaluable addition to any young readers bookshelf ? and it's a healthy new title in the growing local travel genre.

Title: A River Safari: A Young Explorer's Guide to an African River
Author: Nadine Clarke
Publisher: Struik
Price: R92
ISBN: 1-86872-999-0