About the Book and Author
This book is reminiscent of The Animals of Farthing Wood by Colin Dann. Unsurprisingly as it turns out it this book was one of Holly Webb’s favourite childhood stories too and was one of the books that inspired her to write this gentle story about an otter and a beaver.
There is a subtle message about climate change that was not lost on our young reviewer whose comments you can read if you scroll down this post.
Holly Webb is a British children’s writer. She studied Classics at Newnham College at Cambridge University, Byzantine and Medieval Art History at the Courtauld Institute of Art, and then worked as an editor at Scholastic until 2005. She is the author of over a hundred books about animals! Visit her website to find out more.
Zanna Goldhawk is an illustrator who divides her time between running my lifestyle business Papio Press with my husband and fellow illustrator Harry Goldhawk, and creating beautiful illustrations for commissioners publishing children’s books and other projects.
Book Review
a gentle read
This book was a really nice gentle book to read, it reminded me of the Redwall books that I love and also Watership Down.
The story focuses on an Otter and a Beaver who are young animals who don’t feel they fit in very well with their families. They share their fears about their home, especially about flooding which I felt was a good way of telling the reader about the effects of climate change.
The friends decide to go on an adventure to find out why their home is changing, at this point I expected the story to go a particular way instead there was a twist and a whole new story opened. I really liked this, it made the story more surprising and interesting.
The double page illustrations in this book are amazing, my favourite is on page 134, even though they are in black and white they are really striking.
My younger brother (aged 4) enjoyed listening to the story too.
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Alternatively, we suggest that you visit your local library and request to borrow a copy from a friendly librarian.
Whichever you choose we hope you enjoy being part of your unique reading community – happy reading everyone!
Reviewer Profile
- Name: Ryan
- Age: 10 years
- Likes: Lego, Dragonball Z and reading
- Dislikes: Being woken up and losing on computer games!
- Favourite Book: Tom Gates: Dog Zombie Rules by Liz Pichon
- Favourite Song: The Final Countdown by Queen
- Favourite Film: Dragonball Z: Super Battle of the Gods
