The Magic Island Gang

When an ambitious Zoo Director decides to make his zoo one of the world’s peak tourist experiences, he calls on Sammy Snatch, a ruthless animal smuggler, for help. But Director Deluge doesn’t count on some of Sammy’s victims—the larrikin cockatoo, Jock; the solitary yellow-eyed penguin, Solomon; the revolutionary Liberty Wombat; the larcenous Pilfer Possum; and the Zoo’s poetic star, Chilli Koala—who are not pleased to find themselves in a frosty coastal Zoo a long way from home. Can this desperate Gang pull off an ingenious caper, elude the police, zookeepers, security guards, and even the Air Force to find their way home--when a ruthless gang of criminals is on their trail, waiting to ambush them?

When an ambitious Zoo Director decides to make his zoo one of the world’s peak tourist experiences, he calls on Sammy Snatch, a ruthless animal smuggler, for help. But Director Deluge doesn’t count on some of Sammy’s victims—the larrikin cockatoo, Jock; the solitary yellow-eyed penguin, Solomon; the revolutionary Liberty Wombat; the larcenous Pilfer Possum; and the Zoo’s poetic star, Chilli Koala—who are not pleased to find themselves in a frosty coastal Zoo a long way from home. Can this unlikely Gang elude the police, zookeepers, security guards, and even the Air Force to find their way home? To return to the tropical island of their dreams, the Gang pulls off an ingenious caper. Their adventure takes a surprising turn when they find themselves with a treasure beyond their wildest imagination. With a gang of criminals with dastardly plans for the Gang hot on their trail, the five friends travel halfway around the world in a desperate attempt to return the treasure to its rightful owner and find a home that offers them the safety and freedom that was taken from them.

Judith Lydia Mercure has been a teacher, translator, journalist, editor, publisher, and innovation marketing professional. She has published extensively (fiction and non-fiction). She has taught courses in English language and literature, with Blackfoot Indian students in Montana, USA and with young women at a college in Kyoto, Japan, where she lived in a Buddhist temple. She is guest lecturer for the International MBA Program of Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand. She has led marketing workshops and campaigns for scientists and university innovators in the US, EU, and Australia. She has BA(Hons) qualifications as a secondary school teacher (English), a Master’s Degree in the History and Philosophy of Science and a Masters’ Degree in Technology Marketing. When not travelling, she lives in Sydney where she enjoys beach-side walks, yoga, cooking, creating mosaics, writing, and laughing at the cheeky local wildlife. She is a passionate traveller, cook, mosaic artist, writer and reader.