The Shelterlings

Sarah Beth Durst's The Shelterlings is a cosy, funny fantasy for 8 year olds about a squirrel whose one magic power is making croissants appear.

What happens

Holly is the only squirrel living in the Shelter for Rejected Familiars. Every animal there once climbed Cloud Mountain and drank from the Moon Mirror, hoping to become a wizard's magical partner. Every one of them was told their new power was useless.

And what powers they are! Gus the barn owl can turn himself into a stone statue. Clover the cow can see the future (she's always wrong). Bluebell the rabbit can turn any hat into a different hat, and he only owns one.

Holly copes by being kind. She sweeps the porch with her tail, magics up muffins on request and wants every new arrival to feel at home straight away.

Then Periwinkle arrives. She's a tiny lemur who can find anything that's been lost, and she absolutely will not give it back. Within three days she has upset almost everyone, starting with Bluebell and his precious hat.

And then someone Holly has missed very much comes strolling up the path. Charlie the beaver, who used to welcome every new arrival, is back. He says he needs Periwinkle's help.

It's a gentle, very funny read, and the jokes come from the animals being exactly themselves. Zephyr the turtle is super fast and crashes into every wall with a gecko clinging to his shell. Gus sings cheese names to cheer Holly up. Who wouldn't love a home where the pastries turn up on request?

Underneath the fun, it's about feeling like a mistake. Periwinkle says the wizards called her useless, and Holly knows exactly how that stings because they laughed at her too. It's lovely watching a small squirrel decide that being kind is something she can do without any special power at all.

If your reader has ever felt left out for being a bit different, this one is like a big hug.

What to read next

For another gang of animals nobody takes seriously, try Quest of the Warrior Sheep. Five rare breed sheep become convinced that a phone falling out of the sky means they've been chosen to save the world.