Freepetopia

by Barbara Woster

Have you ever wondered where your pets go when you let them out the play? Step into the pages of this book to discover the answers -- with your host, Felicia Feline

84 pages, Paperback

First published October 5, 2012

About the author

Barbara writes using different variations of her name.

Barbara Woster: YA/Adult Romance (suspense, time-travel, contemporary, historical, thrillers, comedy)

B.J. Woster: Crime Novels (thrillers, international, psychological, paranormal)

B. Woster: Middle-grade/Children (ages 6-12)

Learn more about this author on her website: BarbaraWosterAuthor.com

Reviews

[Michelle Myer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good idea. Poor execution.

I love the concept of this book. I love the animal point of view. I was so irritated with the writing though I couldn't finish it. Parts are written in third person. Parts in first person from the cat's POV. Unfortunately the author chose not to divide those sections in any way. A paragraph might start in 3rd, go to 1st with no quotation marks or italics to indicate it is the cat's thoughts, and then go back to 3rd. I was looking forward to reading it but I stopped when I literally almost threw my phone in frustration.

[Deborah Barwick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Produced in hardback to a high standard, this books states on the front cover that it is ‘for ages 6 and up’. The style and language may be too advanced children this young, even when being read to, and would suggest that confident readers of 8+ may be a more suitable audience.

The front cover and (only) three full-page illustrations also reinforce my opinion, being realistically drawn and of complex content.

I did spot a typing error or two, and I would urge the author to consider adding page numbers. Children may find it difficult to find where they left off reading without these. Producing in paperback to reduce the cost would make it more accessible to piggybank pockets.

The story is well written, and I imagine children will enjoy the thought that their pets have a ‘playground’ to visit, and that they have a hidden intelligence beyond human understanding. The main protagonists are well rounded, diverse and likeable, and the idea that in Ehtaria all animals get along with each other reinforces a great message for young readers.

An enjoyable book.

Deborah Barwick, Author
Business Partner
Official The Book Dragon Reviewer

[Joshua Easton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Utopia For Pets

What a fun little novel this is. Fantastic character development and a story early elementary to upper grades can read with ease about adventurous pets who find a utopia for pets to be happy for eternity. Hope there are more adventures with Zeus and Tabby, as well as Siam, Snookums, and Pathfinder.

[Joanna Among Paper Petals · Rating 5 out of 5]

Felicia the feline and Zeus the dog go on an adventure to a place called Ehtaria. They make new friends along the way and deal with some not so friendly animals as well. Originally published under the name Freepetopia in Oct 2012, it was revamped with a new cover and title in 2018 and looks better than ever!

The plot was simple enough for my children to understand what was going on throughout the book but the writing wasn’t so elementary that they weren’t challenged when reading. There were a few mechanical mistakes throughout the book, but mainly just typos, like an extra word or a missing letter. Very simple mistakes that every writer makes that can easily be fixed if they so choose once pointed out, but not enough to lose stars over.

My absolute favorite aspects of this book were the realistic dialogue and character depth and interactions. Each animal in this story had their own personalities and things that made them unique. For example, one pet had a stutter and another was afraid of the dark, and they took care of each other in spite of their differences. I also loved how it shows that characters can still be friends, even if they are sarcastic with one another and ‘teasing/picking on each other.’ It also showed you aren’t always going to immediately become fast friends with other people you meet, but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen.

I personally gave this book 4 stars because it is a child’s book and I am not as emotionally invested in the characters as my children would be. Having said that, my children definitely were invested. They were shocked by certain scenes we read, asked to read the book with me and absolutely hated when I finished a chapter and it had ended on a ‘cliff hanger,’ their actual words. <3 So, even though I personally didn’t get attached, though the book was very well done, in my kids eyes this was a 5-star book.

[Maggy Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hello Barbara I read this book to my class and just the part of hello folks...got them leaning forward. after every paragraph I would look up to see how they were doing they were always sitting up and looking at me even my naughty kids were paying lots of attention at the end when I finished reading the whole book and let them have a break for five minutes all I heard was things about your book one kid came to me and said I wish that she wrote a second book and that maybe he could help this was his idea that Felicia could get knocked out then captured by humans then it's up to Zues,and his friends to save her. I thought it was so funny and it's amazing how well written your books are it even pulled me in and like one of my kids said I hope you make a freepetopia 2

[Karis · Rating 5 out of 5]

At first I wasn't sure I wanted to read this book, but it was recommended to me by another mom, so I took my chances and boy was I wrong. I loved the book and my children loved it too. It taught a great moral about teamwork, friendship, and bullies while on their adventure to Freepetopia, a utopia for all animals. On top of that it was really funny. When I was ready to put the book away my children would beg me to keep on reading. This author must have a great imagination to come up with such a great story as this.

[Josephine Calabrese · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read Freepetopia and found it to be an enjoyable story. It's a creative story with a very unusual host.
This adventure book shows examples of good moral behavior:

It teaches respect for all people, pets, etc., no matter how different;it teaches respect for other's
feelings.

Bravery is seen in helping not just friends but also strangers.

It speaks out in its creative way against bullying and shows a positive way of dealing with bullys.

It may have a grammatical error here and there but is worth reading. I rate this book 5 stars.

[Bj · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't get this for me. I got it for my kids based on the recommendation of a teacher who had read it to her 2nd grade class. My kids loved it. Just as Mrs. Woster' s banter in her young adult books is witty, so is the dialogue between the characters in this book (pets). There are multiple morals taught without being preachy. My kids hope this won't be her last kids book.

[Anna Junker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful

Funny, exciting and adventurous. Perfect story. I love my pets and this tale brought so much more then I imagined. Looking forward to the next one. Thank you.