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Laura James's Safari Pug: The Dog Who Walked on the Wild Side is a funny, slightly hair-raising animal adventure for 6 year olds about a very nervous pug who's been told he's going to meet a lion.
It starts at midnight. Lady Miranda wakes up screaming that there's a lion in her bedroom. It's in the wardrobe! No, behind the curtain! No, under the bed! Wendy the housekeeper checks everywhere and only finds a LOT of crumbs (which she suspects are Pug's).
It was a nightmare, of course. But Lady Miranda has decided Pug needs to show everyone he isn't a scaredy-cat. So the next morning they set off for the safari park in the sedan chair.
The ticket lady won't let a sedan chair anywhere near the lions. So it's Animal Adventure Land instead, with penguins, meerkats and a runaway monkey.
Someone else is there too. Arlene von Bling is a grumpy telly antiques expert who very clearly isn't an animal person. Pug doesn't like her one bit, and he's right not to. When she hears that Florence the white lion cub is very rare, she starts asking how much one might sell for.
Pug is a dog of very few words, but you hear every single worry going round his head. He wonders how Lady Miranda can spot a lion with her eye mask on (she must use her nose, he decides). He's sure every set of footprints belongs to a lion. Then he ends up nose to nose with one and can't believe his own bravery.
Florence is a gorgeous little character. She bops Pug with her paw, pounces on his tummy and makes him burp! If your reader loves baby animals, that scene alone will probably win them over.
It gets quite tense towards the end, with a pride of hungry lions, a high fence and Pug in real danger for a chapter or so. It's played for giggles and Lady Miranda is never far away. A child who's easily frightened might like a grown-up close by for that bit, while one who loves a bit of peril will be gripped.
Underneath all the silliness it's about being brave for someone you love. Pug is scared nearly the whole way through, and you'll be cheering every small brave step.
If they're after another animal adventure from Laura James with a sneaky thief in it, Mystery on the Ostrich Express stars Fabio the flamingo detective. Someone pinches a ruby as big as an egg on a luxury steam train, and Fabio has a pretty good idea who.
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