Local author and illustrator Gaylene Jablonkay has relaunched her Jett’s African Adventures picture-book series with vibrant new illustrations, new titles and a set of companion activity and colouring books in time for Christmas.

The author shared insight about the book There’s an Alien in My Treehouse! “Jett comes face to face with a scary creature in his treehouse at his new home on a South African game reserve. Will his fright turn into a lasting friendship? The sequel, There’s a Nibble on My Tail!, sees Jett invite a new friend, Khanye, to play, which makes his giraffe friend, Jenga, jealous. The chaos that follows makes for a funny story about forgiveness and how friendship grows to make room for others,” Jablonkay explained.

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Jablonkay said she first imagined Jett during three months of bed rest while pregnant with her only son, also called Jett, who grew up to look just like the character. She completed a course in writing storybooks for children during the Covid-19 lockdown, taught herself to illustrate, and self-published both books. In 2026, she gave the series a full edit and, using new technology, developed fresh illustrations from her originals.

“There’s an Alien in my Treehouse! has lovely illustrations and a relatable story about moving to a new place and making friends. We need more books for children that are fun to read and set in Africa!” shared Deborah Ewing, a Durban-based writer and author of the Planet Mouse children’s series.

Each A5, 32-page storybook has a full-colour A4 activity book with puzzles, word searches, spot the difference, counting and tracing, plus a black-and-white colouring book featuring all the illustrations. The series is available now at wordbloomharvest.co.za.

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