The Hidden Star (Broché)

Eleven-year-old Nolitye lives in a shack with her mother Thembi in Phola, a dusty township on the edge of Johannesburg. She is good at maths and likes collecting stones, which she places in a bucket under her bed. She also has unusual powers : she can communicate with dogs. One day, Nolitye finds part of a magical stone that has the power to make people feel happy and laugh. Her mission is to gather together the five other pieces of the stone, to stop darkness from taking control of her world.
With her two close friends, the over-pampered Bheki, and Four Eyes, a reformed member of the Spoilers gang led by Rotten Nellie, Nolitye pursues her quest to reunite the stone. She grows in strength and courage, using the stone's power to stand up to the Spoilers gang, to help Rex, the leader of a pack of talking township dogs, and to challenge scary Ma Mtonga, with her living brown-and-green snake necklace.
K. Sello Duiker has created a spell-binding world that blends myth, folklore and township life, which will appeal to an audience of all ages. Nolitye's journey is magical realism at its best.