When Hoopoes Go To Heaven

What you need to know before your trail

Ten-year-old Benedict is feeling happy. His family’s new home in Swaziland has the most beautiful garden in the whole entire world, teeming with insects, frogs and his favourite cinnamon-coloured birds. Here, crouched in the cool shade of the lucky-bean tree, it’s easy to forget the loneliness that comes from his siblings playing without him, easy to stop himself fretting about how to fix his Mama’s failing cake-baking business.

Of course, there are many things in Africa that cannot be put right by a boy who isn’t yet big. But in Benedict’s wonder-filled world, even the ugliest situation has a certain magic.