Magic Animal Friends – Lucy Longwhiskers Gets Lost

Lucy Longwhiskers Gets Lost is the first Magic Animal Friends book by Daisy Meadows, a cosy magical adventure for 5 year olds about two best friends and one very small rabbit.

What happens

Lily's parents have turned their barn into a wildlife hospital, and her best friend Jess lives across the road. It's the first day of the summer holidays and all they want to do is feed the fox cubs.

Then a golden cat appears in a hutch that's meant to be empty. She leads them over the stepping-stones to a dead oak tree in the meadow, and the tree bursts into leaf.

There are words carved into the trunk. When the girls read them out together, a little door appears. Would your reader open it? (Jess doesn't even stop to think.)

On the other side is Friendship Forest, where the animals chat away, walk on two legs and live in tiny cottages. There's a café run by rabbits and a stork in a flying helmet.

The cat is called Goldie, and she's brought the girls here for a reason. A witch called Grizelda wants the forest for herself. Her plan is to tear down the Blossom Briar, the giant bush that keeps every flower in the forest blooming.

Lucy is the young rabbit from the café, small enough to sit in one hand and full of questions. She's also the one who hops out and tells the witch's helpers to stop. One of them scoops her up and runs off with her.

So the girls have a rabbit to find, and the flowers are already turning grey.

Your reader will probably love Mr Cleverfeather best. He's an owl inventor who gets his words in a twist, so "apologise" comes out as "I do jolly pies". It's a very silly joke and he keeps it up all the way through.

The baddies are more smelly than scary. The Boggits are lumpy, grubby creatures who shout "Haargh! Haargh!" and love a mess. Grizelda is a proper witch though, with green hair and a laugh like thunder. Lucy also spends a while shut in a cage calling for help, so a very soft-hearted child might want you nearby for that part.

It's a short book and a gentle one, and it's the start of a series, so there's more Friendship Forest if they love it. A few American words pop up along the way (Mom, vacation, cotton candy).

What to read next

If they like two best friends coming to the rescue of a small animal, try Caitlin the Ice Bear Fairy. That one has Rachel and Kirsty trying to get a little white bear cub back from Jack Frost.