Luna

Holly Webb's Luna is a snowy Christmas adventure for 6 year olds about a girl, a wooden puppet and a bear cub who needs a friend.

What happens

Hannah is in Dresden with her family, and the Christmas market is like stepping inside a snow globe. There's hot chocolate, gingerbread and a Ferris wheel (which Hannah is secretly scared of, although her little sister Olivia isn't).

At a stall full of carved figures, an old man shows her a bear cub puppet. When he makes it dance, Hannah hears a drum and a flute that nobody else can hear. The bear's face looks angry and scared. Hannah spends all her spending money on it.

That night Olivia gets the puppet out without asking. There's a tug of war. Snap.

Hannah cries until she falls asleep. When she wakes up, she's lying on straw in a cold, smelly stable, wearing clothes that aren't hers. And something in the corner is growling.

It's a real bear cub. Her name is Luna.

A boy called Matthias explains. Luna has been taken from the forest by men who make bears dance for money at the market. He wants to steal her back and take her home. Hannah is going to help him.

This is Holly Webb doing what she does best. Hannah's feelings are so easy to understand. She's cross with her sister, then guilty, then brave. The old-fashioned market feels very real, with hot pies, smoky torches and people shouting at a hungry beggar girl (who is actually Hannah in disguise!).

Who wouldn't want to rescue a bear cub? Your reader will be willing them on the whole way.

There are a couple of sad bits to be ready for. Matthias tells Hannah that the men killed Luna's mother with a trap to steal her, and that dancing bears are trained by making them stand on hot metal. It happens before the story starts, but it's said very plainly. The big bear, Benno, is angry and frightening too. A very sensitive animal lover might need a cuddle at those bits.

If your reader already loves animal stories and has a strong sense of what's fair, they'll be cheering Hannah on. It's also a lovely one to share at Christmas time.

What to read next

If they fall for this one, The Reindeer Girl is another Holly Webb winter story. Lotta goes to Norway for Christmas to meet her great-grandmother, falls asleep listening to stories about the reindeer and wakes up in a Sami tent eighty years in the past.