I am so excited to share this book trailer/video of my debut picture book, A Family For Faru. It’s the story of a young boy, an orphaned rhino and their journey across the African savannah to find the rhino a new family.
The idea for this story came in 2016 when my daughter volunteered at a rhino orphanage in South Africa. My husband, son and I, took advantage of this opportunity and travelled to South Africa as well. We had the privilege of seeing so many beautiful animals, including rhinos. Four years later, it’s an actual book, with gorgeous illustrations by Karen Patkau. I will be donating 40% of my royalties to the following rhino charities:
Care For Wild Rhino Sanctuary NPC https://www.careforwild.co.za/
Blankets for Baby Rhinos https://www.blanketsforbabyrhinos.org/
Baby Rhino Rescue https://babyrhinorescue.org/
Helping Rhinos https://www.helpingrhinos.org/
To purchase a copy, please visit your local independent book store or click on one of the links below. THANK YOU for helping me help rhinos!
In Canada: https://www.differentdrummerbooks.ca/anitha-rao-robinson.html
In US: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-family-for-faru-anitha-rao-robinson/1130392633?ean=9781772780963
In UK: Amazon UK
REVIEWS FOR FARU
Fiction and nonfiction meet as a boy seeks to save an orphaned rhino. . . This picture book offers a colourful portrayal of a gentle rhino and a boy who cares for him and helps him survive. . . Young readers will also enjoy finding small insects, reptiles, and mammals along the journey. . .The back-matter offers insightful details on the poaching of rhinos, their endangered status, conservation efforts to save them, and Rao-Robinson’s story of her encounter with rhinos in South Africa that inspired the book. A gentle story that helps children understand why wildlife conservation matters and why they should care. — Kirkus Review
“The warm relationship between Tetenya and Faru, and the young boys’ bravery, that children will most likely remember.”—Horn Book Magazine
“Having wide appeal, this story can introduce a range of topics, from adoption to African animals to endangered species. Young listeners will enjoy the introductory trek through the savanna and cheer when Faru finds a family.”—School Library Journal
“An excellent feature of A Family for Faru is that it ends with age-appropriate factual information about rhinos that is worded in comprehendible, child-friendly language….Beautifully written and illustrated, A Family for Faru is a most worthwhile addition to library collections. Recommended.”—CM Magazine
“Anitha Rao-Robinson’s story is one of friendship and compassion but also conservation as her final note about ‘Rhinos’ elucidates….Anitha Rao-Robinson’s text evokes the camaraderie of rhino and boy in their companionable activities, whether it be collecting water berries or hiking or resting and it’s Karen Patkau’s extraordinary digitally-rendered art that takes us to the savannah.”—CanLit for LittleCanadians
February 19, 2020 marks the first ever I Read Canadian Day. It is an initiative to promote the richness and diversity of Canadian Literature. As part of the celebration, many Canadian authors, myself included, recorded videos reading an excerpt from our books. Being an introvert, the whole experience of putting myself out there was quite terrifying. But now that I’ve done it, I’m so glad I braved through. I am very grateful for the support I received from my fellow Canadian authors. So, here are my two videos! In the first one, I read the beginning of my young adult novel Broken Worlds. And in the second, I talk about something very close to me—diversity in publishing. Thanks for taking a look.
It’s been ten years since I started writing about Kalli, and now her story ends in the last book of my YA sci-fi trilogy. Broken Dreams came out June 4th, 2019! Thank you to everyone who supported me—my family, my critique group, my publisher, and my friends. Kalli’s story would still just be in my head, if it wasn’t for all of you.
Broken Promises, the second book in my YA trilogy was released by CBAY Books in the spring of 2017! A huge thanks to the talented Madeline Smoot, for creating another amazing cover.
How far would one go to survive when they’ve damaged their planet to the point it can no longer sustain life? In Broken Worlds, Kalli finds out.
When a brutal attack leaves her barely conscious, Kalli thinks that the young man carrying her away is an angel sent to ferry her to Heaven. After all of the abuse and months of homelessness, Kalli welcomes the relief that Heaven would bring. Handsome Ellis, though, turns out to be just as mortal as she is. A kind stranger, Ellis saves her life by taking her to a local clinic to be healed. Once better, Kalli finds herself staying with her unusual rescuer while being monitored constantly by his mysterious family. It’s not an ideal situation, but it beats the streets. Now that she’s safe and warm and appears to have found someone who cares for her, Kalli assumes the worst is behind her. She couldn’t be more wrong.
Broken Worlds was the very first Young Adult Winner in the Yummy but Brainy Writing Contest presented by CBAY Books.
Please check out the Broken Worlds website: http://www.brokenworldsbook.com/
Anitha Rao-Robinson 