Polly Pecorino: The Girl Who Rescues Animals - Emma Chichester Clark

Polly lives in the small town of Abbeville which is protected by high walls so that the bears of Wild Bear Woods cannot come near the townsfolk.  The locals are terrified of the bears and this includes Polly whose unique talent means that she can talk to animals.  It is this that helps her rescue them and means that she loves to spend all of her spare time caring for the animals at Happy Days Zoo, along with her Uncle Stan; however, the owners of the zoo, Mr and Mrs Snell, are rather less caring about the animals and are more interested in money.  As a result, Mrs Snell steals a bear cub from Wild Bear Woods to be the new prize exhibit.  The cub, Booboo, is terrified of his new surroundings and misses his family so Polly takes it upon herself to care for him.  At the same time she is worried that the ferocious bears will venture from the wood to recue the cub.  Can Polly save the day and is she brave enough to venture into Wild Bear Woods to return Booboo before anybody gets hurt?

Polly's wonderfully caring, gentle character shines of the pages.  Her unique ability allows her to empathise and see the world from the animals' points of view.  Her bravery is evident at various times in the book and she will be a character that readers will warm to.  Unlike the Snells!  Mrs Snell in particular is a rather unpleasant character whose soul concern is monetary gain for her own benefit.  She is incredibly selfish and undoubtedly dominates her husband who appears to be easily lead by her - they are well written and readers will enjoy hating them!

Setting the story in a walled town gives the whole book a rather traditional feel, as does the use of bears along with the them versus us plot.  For me, the zoo setting took me back to happy days spent at Edinburgh Zoo as a child, making the zoo in the book perfectly named!  However, at the beginning, the animals are anything but happy, which is where Polly comes in.

I'm always on the look out for well-written books for lower key stage 2 and Polly Pecorino fits the bill perfectly!  With chapters that are a manageable length, wonderful illustrations throughout and messages of kindness, respecting animals and doing the right thing, I will most definitely be adding this book to the school library!