This is not my favorite of Lasky's books but fans of her titles and animal lovers alike will find solace in this book. I know it is already circulating well at the library.

I loved this animal adventure story! It started off a bit slow but as it picked up, I was drawn into this fantasy world full of incredibly rich and dynamic characters. This book makes deep and profound statements about how we treat those who are "different" from us as well as the power of friendship and belonging in a way that is kid-appropriate and not didactic. I highly recommend this to readers who love fantastical, mystery-filled adventures.

Having been a previous fan of The Guardians of Gahoole, I find Kathryn Lasky’s glimpse into yet another ecosystem and it’s playful and well developed anthomorphic animals as engaging as ever. Dunwattle, a young beaver, living in a secluded portion of Scotland where his species have shamefully been driven to the near point of extinction, risks banishment or death by accidental exposure to a two leg, and sets in motion a rapidly boiling adventurous plot full of suspense, intrigue, and well conceived animal hierarchy with a spooky edge of supernatural to it as well as a heaping of strong morals and facts about various animal species sprinkled in like spice to a rich dessert. I loved every minute of it from start to finish, finding it difficult to put down until the last page .

This was cute, I love the animal fiction that been out recently. Not to mention I just discovered the Warriors series and I'm binge reading them all at 38yrs old 😅🤣 But yeah, it was a refreshing and fun look at the beaver's world and their POV on things, as well as a swan and a few other furry friends. The beaver that loved stories about royalty and how beavers once went extinct in England because of a famous king, was quite my favorite, if I do say so myself. Finding a kids meal crown from Burger King and wearing it on his head - ADORABLE 🥰. Even better, he's given a toilet plunger another animal found and assumes it's for using as a royal scepter - because he's King of his clan. Obviously. I just can't - that is just too too cute. You will enjoy reading this to your littles, I recommend it thoroughly.

Thanks netgalley for giving me the advanced pdf so that I can share my thoughts and opinions with y'all 🧡

3.5 stars

This is a middle school book set in a secret part of England called Glendunny, where beavers have been hiding out for at least half a century. I don't want to reveal any spoilers, but they have built a successful community, hidden from the two-leggers. the one rule that all of them know and follow is that they must avoid being seen by the two-leggers. After an earthquake shakes up their community, strange things start to happen and then young Dunwattle sees something that makes him panic and swim far enough away that he IS seen by a two-legger. Overall, I enjoyed reading and listening to this recording. The recording I listened to was not a normal audiobook, but instead was a synthesized voice generated by NetGalley, but it was much better than the ones I've listened to before. The voice had a British accent and somehow it fit the story and made it better.

The story itself has some gruesome descriptions of a massacre that occurred 700+ years ago, so more sensitive readers might not be able to handle it. But I think that middle grade is an appropriate age level for this story. Although this is clearly fantasy and the main characters are the beavers, the swan Elsinore, and a few other animals, this story clearly incorporates the issue of racism, racial purity, and bullying, both by kids and adults. It also includes information about Beavers being hunted for their pelts and because humans think they destroy the land with their dams, but this story talks about the good that Beavers do and how they protect the water table and that without them, our Earth would truly be in trouble. There was a lot more to this story than met the eye.

I really liked Dunwattle and Lockley's friendship and how they eventually befriended Yrynn and Elsinore was also a very interesting character. It was also interesting finding out what exactly was happening with the community and the mixture of the supernatural with what was happening.

At around the second half, the story got better and better for me, but where it lost me was the end. Some of the ending I really liked, but I wasn't really clear about what happened to Elsinore, and I also wanted a little bit more about how the rest of the community reacted when they discovered what truly happened. It's like there were a couple of chapters of explanation missing. I believe the addition of a couple more chapters would have made this story much more satisfying and I would have bumped up my rating.

I received an advance review copy from NetGalley for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley #netgelley

I got this book specifically for my son in mind he loves nature and adventure and mysteries. And he absolutely fell in love with the characters in this book and he said it was one of his favorites he had read this year.