No Pets Allowed!

Chitra Soundar's No Pets Allowed is a funny, kind-hearted story for 6 year olds about a girl, a very old tortoise and a very grumpy hospital manager.

What happens

Keva lives with Mum and Grandpa in the flat above Wild Friends, the pet adoption centre Grandpa runs. She cleans out cages and tanks and writes a fact sheet for every animal, Latin name and all. Her favourite is Atlas, Grandpa's ancient Asian Giant Tortoise. He's been with Grandpa since Grandpa was a little boy, and he even has his own passport!

One Saturday Grandpa goes to hospital for some tests. He calls it his MOT. Keva is left in charge of Atlas, and when she and Mum take Grandpa his lunch, Atlas comes along too, on his lead.

That's when they meet Mr Sallow. He's the hospital manager. He points at the NO PETS ALLOWED sign, he shouts, and he keeps calling Atlas a turtle. (Keva is NOT having that.)

What happens next is lovely. Keva spots an old photo on Mr Sallow's office wall and finds out why he's been so cross with tortoises all these years. Then she comes up with a plan to put things right.

It's a short, gentle read with a big heart. Keva is brave and a little bit bossy in the best way, and young readers will love a story where a girl knows more than the grown-up in charge. There are animal facts sprinkled all the way through, and a page of snail and tortoise jokes at the very end.

Grandpa's hospital visit is just a check-up, and everyone says so from the start. So it's a nice pick even for a child who feels a bit wobbly about hospitals.

Would your reader love a job looking after animals one day? Then they'll be on Keva's side from the first page.

What to read next

For another girl who's mad about rescuing animals, try A Kitten Called Holly, where Jasmine and her friend Tom hand-rear a tiny kitten on her family's farm.