Dude's Gotta River Raft (Dude Series) / Dude Series (ePub)

For young readers comfortable reading longer books.
Kids 8 - 12 years old.

The adventures of Magali: a French marmot who sneaks out at night to do sports with her friends!


Magali and her mates fell off the mountain and landed at the bottom, by a river. Rafters in red and blue boats wooshed by. The animals' eyes lit up.

'We've got to do that,' said Henri Le Hare.

'You said it,' said F-F-Foxy.

'Right on!' said Little Foxy.

'Bro, I'm in,' bubbled Puppy Bébé.

Mishka's eyes shone brightly. He looked to Magali.

The marmot looked at the fast-rushing water and bit her bottom lip. 'You know, I'm a marmot. I don't think...'

'So, let's meet tomorrow,' said the hare.

The friends high-fived.

From that day on, the group met at the river to practice. One day, they encountered a boar with a really long snout. He said that he and his mates were the fastest rafters around.

Magali's friends burst into laughter. 'Best river rafters? You? Ha ha ha! Don't think so! WE are the best. In everything.'


Hmmmm... Will Magali help her friends beat the boar on Race Night? She's not even sure she knows how to swim!



A funny middle-grade series about trusting instinct, forging friendships, and learning independence.

• The books have British spelling.
• For ages 8-12 yrs.
• Set in La Plagne, Savoie, France
• Each book can be read as an individual book or as part of the Dude Series.
• The series is available in English, French, Spanish, plus bilingual versions (English / français) (English / español).

Question for the Author
How did you come up with the character of Magali?
'You know, I really love the French Alps, and looking at all the animals that live in the mountains. I'm Australian, so I had never seen a marmot before moving to France. I worked one summer, for a kids' summer camp, and part of my job was to take the children out on walks. We would go looking for marmots, all of us being very quiet, secretly sneaking up to the holes in the ground, where the entrances to the marmot burrows were. Of course, we would make too much noise and the marmots would disappear into their underground tunnels, but sometimes we were lucky and able to take photos. I think their underground homes took over my imagination, and before you knew it, I had a whole chapter book in my head, with Magali as the principal character!'