Book excerpt: This book takes the reader on a delightful journey into Africa and into the world of a little girl called Tippi who tells her unforgettable story on her return from Africa to France at the age of ten. Tippi is no ordinary child. She believes that she has the gift of talking to animals and that they are like brothers to her. Her world is filled with characters like Leon the Chameleon, Abu the elephant whom she calls ‘my brother’, and leopards, snakes, baboons, lions and ostriches ... ‘I speak to them with my mind, or through my eyes, my heart or my soul, and I see that they understand and answer me.’ My Book of Africa contains the words of a little girl who has the gift of reaching out and touching the people and animals of Africa. It s beautifully illustrated with over 100 magical photographs taken by her parents, French filmmakers and photographers, Sylvie Robert and Alain Degré.