Holly’s Secret (3) (The Woodwalkers)
by Katja Brandis, Rachel Ward (Translation), Claudia Carls (Illustrations)
Carag and his shape-shifting friends begin to investigate a strange burglary at the local bank. They wonder if a woodwalker could be involved, but Carag worries that Holly might be up to her old thieving tricks again. She is known for being a petty pickpocket, but she wouldn’t do something as risky as rob a bank, would she?
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Carag’s Transformation (Woodwalkers #1)
by Katja Brandis, Rachel Ward (Translation)
Carag is a shapeshifter, changing from his puma animal form into a human whenever he wants. But his family have always lived as pumas, rarely changing into their human shapes. Carag decides to leave his family and start a new life as a human, where he is placed with a foster family. But being a human is more difficult than he thought, and he finds it complicated to navigate through the nuances of human behavior. Carag begins to attend a special school for Woodwalkers who can shapeshift, and he makes enemies and friends along the way.
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An Illustrated Collection of Nordic Animal Tales
by Pirkko-Liisa Surojegin, Jill Timbers (Translator)
This collection of folk tales follows Bear, Fox, and Wolf as they attempt to sow a field of wheat by clearing a space in the forest. Fox is always trying to get out of doing his share of the work, and he tricks his friends and neighbors. The Rooster at the nearby farm has a terrible premonition that the end of the world is coming, and he spreads a panic among the animals. The Hare is terrified at some strange monster creature in the woods, but no animal is brave enough to get close enough to find out what kind of creature it is. In each tale, Fox is a prominent character, always sly and clever.
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The Sable Quean (Redwall, #21)
by Brian Jacques, Sean Rubin (Illustrator)
Two warrior hares of Salamandastron set out on a journey to Redwall looking for adventure. When they find out that little animal babes and toddlers are being kidnapped from all around Redwall, they vow to help the Redwall creatures to find their missing children. The evil ‘Quean’ is hatching a horrible plot against all the good animals at Redwall, and her vermin army is closing in.
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Always, Clementine
by Carlie Sorosiak (Goodreads Author)
3.5 out of 5 stars
Clementine is a lab mouse. A genetic experiment has given her super-intelligence and she does her best to solve every maze and puzzle that the team of scientists give her. Clementine befriends a chimp named Rosie in one of the lab cages. When a scientist with a guilty conscience sets Clementine free, she begins a wild journey to prove her worth and hopefully save Rosie from the lab too. In the meantime, Clementine writes letters to Rosie (which are never written or posted) and tells Rosie all her adventures.
Atlas of Cats
by Helena Haraštová ,Jana Sedlackova, Giulia Lombardo (Illustrator)
This book gives information about all the different breeds of cats, how they first developed, what their temperaments are like, and how to tell them apart from other cat breeds. There are also cat stories told from the perspective of the cats in their own newspaper, “Meow News”.
This book is so adorable! I love the attractive design and the sweet artwork. Every page is so colorful, and all the kitties are so cute!
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The Sleepover Mystery (Museum Kittens)
by Holly Webb,Sarah Lodge (Illustrator)
In this third book of the series, Bianca befriends a group of schoolchildren who are at the museum for a sleepover. She loves all the attention she gets for her beautiful white fur! But the rats are scampering around the museum at night, frightening the children. When Bianca disappears, the other kittens look everywhere for her and finally confront the rats. Maybe the rats kidnapped Bianca? Or maybe Bianca wants to run away with the schoolchildren?
The Treasure Map (Museum Kittens)
by Holly Webb
Boris leads the kittens in exploring an old pirate ship in the museum. They overhear the mischievous rats talking about a treasure map, and begin to follow the rats in order to claim the treasure for the museum. I really enjoyed the puzzle aspect of this fourth book in the series! As the kittens follow the clues, they really have to think carefully to figure out where the treasure might be hidden.
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The Midnight Visitor (Museum Kittens)
by Holly Webb, Sarah Lodge (Illustrator)
Three kittens (Tasha, Boris, and Bianca) live with their family in the basement of a museum, where the night guard keeps them to scare away the rats. The kittens are intrigued when a stray cat brings in a black kitten, Peter, to live in the museum. Tasha, Boris, and Bianca are not sure they want to welcome Peter. He is so different, and no one knows where he is from. Peter will have to prove his worth if he wants to become a museum kitten.
This is such an adorable book! The kittens are so cute, and I love the little adventures they have. The plot is simple, but interesting. The writing style is perfect for this age group, and even enjoyable for an adult to read.
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High Rhulain (Redwall, #18)
by Brian Jacques
5 out of 5 stars
The good beasts at Redwall rescue an injured bird, and it sets them on a quest to discover all they can about the legend of the ancient Queen Rhulain. Meanwhile, on an island far away, otter clans are enslaved to a ferocious wildcat society, and only the clever outlaw, Shellhound, can outwit their evil wildcat leader. Caught in the middle of these adventures is the young Redwall ottermaid, Tiria. She dreams of Martin the Warrior, who guides her to find her true destiny.
What an absolute delight! This book has everything that I love about Redwall books. Ravenous hares, wise old scribes, adorable moles, silly shrews, and of course brave warriors ready to defend all good beasts.
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Skunk and Badger (Skunk and Badger #1)
by Amy Timberlake, Jon Klassen (Illustrations)
5 out of 5 stars
Badger has a simple and quiet life studying rocks and doing Important Rock Work. One day Skunk shows up on Badger’s doorstep as his new roommate, and Badger’s quiet life is thrown into chaos. Skunk cooks delicious meals, but dirties up the kitchen. Skunk moves furniture around and recycles all the cardboard boxes that Badger was saving. Skunk invites guests over for a story-time popcorn party until the house is overrun with chickens! Badger is torn between enjoying all the excitement and being angry with Skunk for his wild behavior. How will these two roommates ever find a way to live together in harmony?
I loved this book so much! It reminds me of one of my favorite animal books, “Wind in the Willows”. There is a quiet character and an adventurous character, and they learn to be friends.
The character development is fantastic! Badger goes through a whole internal journey as his world begins to open up and he realizes just how isolated he has become. He is initially dismayed at Skunk’s antics, but also enjoys the good food and companionship that comes into his house. Skunk makes him think differently about his life and see things from a new perspective. I love the warmth of their friendship and how they laugh together.
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