Read Welcome to Silver Street Farm free for 7 days. £7.99/month after - less than a paperback.
Nicola Davies's Welcome to Silver Street Farm is a funny animal story for 7 year olds about three friends who've dreamed of a city farm since their very first day at school.
Meera, Gemma and Karl met over a box of toy farm animals (two cows with missing legs, a headless sheep and some chickens painted pink). They've been planning a real farm ever since.
Then everything happens at once. Meera hears about an old railway station by the canal that sounds perfect. Karl's Auntie Nat buys two "poodle puppies" off the internet, and they turn out to be lambs. And Gemma rescues five "rotten" eggs from the vet's bin, which hatch in her bedroom in the middle of the night.
Who wouldn't want a lamb that was sold as a poodle?
It's VERY silly and very warm. Auntie Nat is a joy, trying to feed the lambs puppy food from a dog bowl. Karl has to ask the corner shop for sheep's milk with a whole queue listening. And there's a kind police sergeant with the biggest wink you've ever seen.
It moves quickly, too. There's a local TV slot, a radio phone-in and a councillor who goes redder and redder, because the council has other plans for that old station. That's where the story really gets going.
The three friends are lovely together. Meera has the ideas, Gemma does the climbing, and quiet Karl turns out to be braver than he looks.
It's worth knowing this is the American edition, so there's kindergarten, soccer and Mom rather than reception, football and Mum. Most readers won't mind at all, but you might get a question or two!
If the ducklings are their favourite part, try A Duckling Called Button by Helen Peters next. Jasmine and Tom rescue a nest of eggs and try to hatch them at home. (It opens with a sad moment by the river, so it's worth being ready for that.)
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