Publication Date: 2 September 2021

The Blurb

Are you brave enough to enter the Wild Bear Woods?

Polly Pecorino rescues animals, and she can talk to them too. She spends all of her time caring for those at Happy Days Zoo, where the devious owners, Mr and Mrs Snell, will do anything to make money. One day they steal a bear cub, certain that he will do wonders for ticket sales, but the ferocious bears living in Wild Bear Woods want their cub back. Will Polly be brave enough to stand up to the Snells and take Booboo, the bear cub, back where he belongs?

The Review

Perfectly paced and packed with beautiful illustrations, Polly Pecorino is a heart warming hug of a book brimming with passion and peril.

Emma deftly weaves a love of animals into the power and pitfalls of zoos, with a cleverly crafted switch of caged creatures towards the end. I love Polly’s relationship with her Uncle Stan, their shared love of the animals in Happy Days Zoo and despair at the state the Snells have allowed it to fall in to. And, Booboo is just delightful from the moment we see his shiny black nose peek out. The Snells, however, are despicable characters – I do love a good villain!

The purpose of zoos, conservation and how easy it is for Fake News to spread fear are all great discussion points within the story, that would make it a great class read for younger year groups, but please make sure you have a visualiser to share the stunning illustrations that bring the beautiful descriptions of Polly, Abbeville and the Wild Bear Woods to life.

Great for fans of:

• Evie And The Animals by Matt Haig
• Me And Mister P series by Maria Farrer
• Opie Jones Talks To Animals by Nat Luurtsema

Like the sound of Polly Pecorino? You can have a look inside over at Walker Books!

Huge thanks to Walker Books for inviting me to take part in the blog tour. Do make sure you check out all of the other stops!