Noah Wild and the Floating Zoo
Reviewed By Janet Mawdesley December 5, 2020
Author Alexander McCall Smith
Distributor: Bloomsbury Children's Books
ISBN: 9781526605542
Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's Books
Release Date: October 2020
Website: https://www.bloomsbury.com
Noah Wild and the Floating Zoo is a whimsical tale about a little boy and his sister who thought it would be better than wonderful to have their own private zoo; to them it would be a dream come true and when it did, well, this is what happened.
Noah Wild and his sister Hatty live with the Aunt Smiley, while their parents are away climbing mountains, doing what they do best to earn a living to support their family. They also have an Uncle called uncle Loafy, who also loved to smile a lot and made the best loaves of bread they have ever tasted. He also has a false leg made of cork.
Now, as it turns out, Uncle Loafy owned a zoo, because one day he met a man who no longer wanted the Zoo, because he was going to live in Australia, so gave it to Uncle Loafy, who while he loved animals did not like to see them in captivity. His friend who had been looking after the animals while Uncle Loafy was at sea, wanted to retire and so the problem was how best to go about returning the animals to the places they originated from, in the easiest possible manner.
Noah, Hatty, Aunt Smiley, Uncle Loafy and a troublesome monkey, as well as the animals set sail on a round the world adventure to take the animals back to their home countries. Old fashioned in the best sense of the words, Noah Wild and the Floating Zoo is a rollicking good yarn, simply presented, ideal for the young reader who enjoys a jolly good story from a master storyteller.
Hard covered with a wraparound dust jacket, as all good books should have, with lovely illustrations from Nicola Kinnear, Noah Wild and the Floating Zoo has been perfectly timed for Christmas giving.