Cappy West in Suriname

Cappy West meant to cross a street. He crossed a whole country. Meet Cappy West — a friendly capybara with a brass compass, a sage-green bandana, and absolutely no sense of direction. He never sets out to learn anything. The learning just keeps finding him. In Book 2 of Cappy West: The Global Explorer, Cappy tumbles into Suriname and gets everything delightfully wrong. He steps off a kerb looking the wrong way and nearly meets a red car. He's baffled to be offered a "kwatta" he was sure lived in a tree. He hops a dusty bus to a place called Galibi and accidentally reaches the sea, then tips off a giant lily pad into a quiet rainforest pond. Along the way, young readers discover real, verified facts about Suriname: a country that's about 93% rainforest; the wooden UNESCO city of Paramaribo, where a synagogue and a mosque have stood as neighbours for over a century; the only country in South America that drives on the left and speaks Dutch; the kwatta that is both a spider monkey and a chocolate bar; giant Victoria water lilies nearly three metres across; and the dazzling blue okopipi frog you look at but never touch. Every short chapter pairs a funny blunder with a true discovery, a Fun Fact, and a gentle Cappy Tip about kindness, curiosity, and slowing down to notice the world. The book closes with a Travel Scrapbook, a fact recap, and a quiz to share. Perfect for ages 6–8 (grades 2–3), confident new readers, bedtime read-alouds, and homeschool trips around the globe. Each book stands on its own — or collect the whole around-the-world series. "I wasn't lost — I was just taking the scenic route to this fact!"