New Buckenham children's author releases new DNA themed book

An accomplished author has released her latest children’s book called The DNA Detectives - The Stone Age Mystery.

Dr Amanda Hartley, 46, who lives in New Buckenham, describes the books as “the first fiction books for seven to 12 year olds where children use DNA to solve crime.”

She said: “My passion is inspiring children with a love of science. My idea was to write a page-turner of an adventure book in the style of Enid Blyton and the famous five where they learn about science and the stone age.”

The story starts with two children discovering an ancient grave under their school hall. It looks like someone has been there before and has been digging, and it appears that they have stolen some of the artefacts.

The children take on the role of forensic scientists and gather evidence to catch the thief. Along the way, they discover how scientists are using DNA to find out what skeletons would have looked like, what diseases they had and what they would have eaten.

Dr Hartley added: “I’ve produced web-links to accompany the book so the readers can relate the science in the book to science which is happening in the real world. There are also lots of fun activities like extracting DNA from fruit, making Stone Age tools out of soap and interactive games.”