This time Orange and Jes are off on an adventure to Central America. Flying to Nicaragua, they experience all the fun, excitement, adventure, and even danger that you would expect from the land of lakes and volcanoes. Journey with them as they solve mysteries and barely escape the perils of the Rio San Juan.

Orange sat at the stern, which means the back of the boat, for you landlubbers.  He was enjoying watching all the trees, plants, and jungle animals go by as they traveled along.  Suddenly, he sensed something.  He wasn’t sure whether he heard it, or felt it.  But something had made him… aware.  It seemed to be behind him, so he turned around to look.  There, right behind him, almost touching him, was the biggest snake he had ever seen.  And it was already halfway into the boat!  It had been swimming toward them and then slithered over the side of the boat without being seen up to that point.

Orange let out a squeal.  It was the piggiest squeal that had ever been emitted from his lips.  But he didn’t care.  Immediately, everybody on board turned around to see what had caused him to squeal like that.  They saw.

“Get outa’ the boat!  Get outa’ the boat!” called Judy from high up in the trees.

In one fluid movement, Jes grabbed Paco and landed on Orange’s back as he took to the air.  Orange rapidly put as much air space as he possibly could between himself and the snake.

“Serpiente, Jes!” shouted Orange.  “It’s called a serpiente!”

At the same time, Julio slid over the side of the boat and swam toward shore while Fernando and Romero dove into the water on opposite sides of the boat and swam toward opposite shores.  Within the space of about one second, the boat was left in the hands of the snake.  Wait a minute.  Snakes don’t have hands.  Within the space of about one second, the boat was empty, except for the snake.

Very quickly everyone arrived on shore.  Orange landed behind some bushes so they could peek out and see what happened.  Julio got to shore and scurried up a tree and out on a limb that hung over the water.  He watched from there.  Fernando stood on the bank on one side of the river while Romero stood on the opposite side.  All of them watched in horror as the snake very slowly swallowed the only thing left in the boat – the golden tacos.  Paco whimpered softly while Fernando shouted.

“Shhhhh!” whispered Jedediah.

“What was that?” whispered Jes, so quietly he could hardly even hear himself.

“It was a dingo. Shhhhh.”

A dingo. Sezni and Lorenzi had warned them about the dingoes.

“Orange, what should we do?”

Jedediah spoke up. “I’d say Jes is in the most danger. The pigs can hold our own since there are so many of us. Quickly, Jes, roll up into a ball and we’ll surround you.”

Jes dropped to his knees, tucked his head under his arms and rolled into a ball as small as he could. The pigs all formed a closed circle around him. Jes could hear the dingoes yapping and knew they were getting closer. Finally, they were close enough to hear them speak.

“So, BaconBits, what are you guys doing out here?” the leader asked, rudely.

“Just having a picnic,” answered Jedediah. “No need to bother us – we’re not bothering you.”

“Oh, you’re not? I beg to differ. Just your presence here bothers us. Just watching you breathe bothers us. You’re a waste of space and I’ve suddenly got a hankering for some pork belly.”

“You should think again, Fang. Several of my boys have grown tusks since you saw us last. We can put up a pretty good fight.”

“Maybe so, but…say, I smell something different. You pigs are filling the airways pretty full, but – yes – I definitely smell something different. What have you got there in the middle of your circle?”

“Never mind about that. I’m warning you,” answered Jedediah in his deepest, gruntiest voice.

“You leave us alone.”

“No can do, BaconBits. I smell human scent and I’m coming for supper.”

Dingoes can rile themselves into a feeding frenzy when there is something they especially like, and their hunger caused them to leave common sense behind. They were greatly outnumbered by the pigs and some of the herd had become quite strapping hogs. Suddenly, the fight was on. All around him Jes could hear the yapping, barking, yelping, grunting, biting, and slashing of the fight. In spite of his fear, he couldn’t just sit there and let his friends do all the fighting for him. Suddenly, he stood up and started throwing rocks at the horrible dingoes. It really didn’t take very long. In just a few minutes the dingoes were all whimpering and limping away. Jes had hit the leader in the head with a big rock and he had called for retreat. The pigs chased them far back into the hills. When they returned, they found that not one of the pigs or Jes had a mark on them.

After that the group decided they had had enough excitement for one afternoon, and returned to the safety of the pigpen. Now Jes understood the warning the emus had given him and he vowed never to get close to a dingo again.

Sample reviews:
“My kids loved this book! Very educational and so much fun at the same time. It definitely held their interest and I highly recommend it!”

“Orange Down Under is marketed for 4th graders, but my 8 and 5 year old boys loved it. They really seemed to connect with the Jes character, and could relate well to his sense of adventure. They had so much fun they had no idea they were actually learning. Our family will be looking expectantly for the sequel. Funny and educational – you can’t go wrong with a combo like that!”

“What a great kids book! I am a great-grandpa, and I think I enjoyed it as much as my grandkids. Not only is the book educational, it was fun to read. There should be more books like this on the market.”

Read more reviews at Amazon.

Orange

Looking for good books for kids? Then you’ve come to the right place. The Orange Chronicles is a series of fun and educational books that feature Orange, the flying pig, and his best friend Jes. Travel with them to other countries where you will find yourself sharing their adventure, excitement, and fun. They also make great read aloud books if you’re looking for an activity to do with others. So become an Orange fan today and look here first when you’re in the market for cheap children’s books!

Read more about Orange.

The books are here! Buy Orange Down Under now!