The Girl Who Lost a Leopard

Nizrana Farook's The Girl Who Lost a Leopard is a thrilling adventure for 10 year olds about a girl who'll do anything to keep her wild leopard friend safe from hunters.

What happens

Selvi is twelve and she's happiest high up in the mountains behind her village, climbing rock faces nobody else will try. Her favourite company up there is Lokka, a leopard whose spots have a golden shimmer around them. They run down the slopes together most mornings. He never comes too close, and she'd never try to touch him.

Then she sees a man called Jansz fire an arrow into the bushes where Lokka is hiding. Hunting leopards is against the law in Serendib. Jansz and his men know Selvi saw them, and they know exactly where she lives.

So Selvi makes a promise to keep quiet. But she hears the hunters planning traps and poisoned meat, because a buyer is waiting at the port and they've been told it has to be Lokka. How do you protect a wild animal who won't leave his favourite spot?

It's properly tense in places. You're right there with Selvi, holding your breath under a bush while heavy footsteps go past. The mountains feel real too, with misty hills, waterfalls, giant squirrels and flowers that only bloom every twelve years.

There's a lot going on at home as well. Selvi's bossy uncle helps her mum out with money and thinks that gives him a say in everything. And Amir, one of the mean boys from school, turns out to be a lot more complicated than Selvi expected. Can she actually trust him?

There are a few things to be ready for. Jansz threatens Selvi's mum to keep her quiet, and there's frank talk about poachers selling skins, teeth and bones. Lokka also catches and eats a deer (it's brief, and Selvi covers her ears). A very animal-loving reader might find the hunting worry stressful.

If your reader loves animals and outdoor adventures, though, Selvi is a wonderful girl to spend time with. She's fierce and loyal and brave, and she climbs like a monkey.

What to read next

This is one of Nizrana Farook's adventures set on the island of Serendib, and each one has its own hero. If they enjoy it, go back to The Girl Who Stole an Elephant, where a bold village girl breaks into the Queen's rooms to steal her jewels and ends up on the run.