Grimwood: Let the Fur Fly!

Nadia Shireen's Grimwood: Let the Fur Fly is a very silly animal adventure for 7 year olds about a posh new neighbour who might not be as nice as he looks.

What happens

This is the second Grimwood adventure. Fox cubs Ted and Nancy came from the Big City, and Grimwood is home now, even with all the litter and old shopping trolleys. Nancy is the star of the treebonk team (squirrels flinging themselves off tall trees, basically).

Then Ted meets a tall stranger in the dark woods. It's a grown-up fox, and Ted has never met one before. Could he know something about their mum and dad?

The stranger is Sebastian Silver, mayor of Twinklenuts Forest next door. Twinklenuts has a crystal-clear lake, free hot dogs and fairy lights in the trees. It's everything Grimwood isn't.

Ted thinks Sebastian is SO cool. Nancy isn't so sure. His smile is friendly. Well, sort of.

The jokes come thick and fast. Titus the stag gets terrible burps from pink fizz. Willow the bunny will knock your block off if you call her cute. There's a recipe for Punishment Muesli (twigs, grit and an old onion) and a narrator who keeps butting in.

Underneath the silliness there's a real heart. Ted still writes letters to the parents who left them as tiny cubs, just in case. Nancy tells him they'd never have left on purpose. It's a quiet, sad moment, and younger readers will feel it.

There's cartoon peril too. Willow gets a small zap from a brand-new electric fence, and Pamela the eagle is said to bite the heads off strangers. It's all played for laughs, but it's worth a mention if your reader is very sensitive.

If you've got a child who loves a big sister and little brother double act, they'll probably adore Ted and Nancy. Who doesn't want a big sister who'd take on anyone for them?

What to read next

If they haven't met the foxes yet, start with the first Grimwood book, which finds them still living in a city park.