Baby Zebra Rescue

Tanglewood Animal Park

by Tamsyn Murray

There's paws, claws, feathers and fur - welcome to Tanglewood Animal Park!

Zoe loves living with her family at Tanglewood - splashing with penguins, feeding lemurs their breakfast, and even seeing baby zebra, Flash, being born!

Then disaster strikes when Flash goes missing. Can Zoe help rescue him in time for the grand opening?

Genres: Animals, Fiction, Childrens, Juvenile

163 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2017

About the author

Hertfordshire-based writer of books. Lives with one husband, one daughter, one son, one mad chocolate labrador, one aged tabby cat, five gorgeous bunnies. Likes animals (no, really?), Marmite and messing about on stage. Dislikes spiders, celery and arrogant people.

Reviews

[John Naylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I realise I have read this series in reverse order and over a year apart.

This was the first book in the series and it appears that the series got better as it went along. There are a few random animal facts in the pages here but also very little plot. Things were resolved very quickly and you never felt any true peril.

A slight content warning as there is quite a few mentions of death without any upsetting scenes involving it. The series as a whole is worth reading for a young reader or a new reader with help.

[Samantha Denman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very cute book where you can learn some animal facts along the way. Precious characters & cute animals!

[Pumkin pie]

It was very fun, I really liked how it hid facts about animals, what the eat and their habitat. I'm definitely reading the next book!

[Julie Halling · Rating 1 out of 5]

The baby zebra rescue was one chapter. It should have been called “Life on a Zoo”

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

    Zoe has just moved with her parents and little brother Rory to Tanglewood Animal Park to fix it up and get it ready to welcome new visitors and animals alike. From the soon-to-be-born baby zebra to completing the paperwork for a tiger to join the big cats, there is a lot to do, and Zoe is ready to help wherever she is needed. But Oliver, the chief vet’s son, takes an immediate dislike to Zoe and seems determined to make her look bad to the other zoo keepers when something bad happens. How can Zoe make friends with someone who seems to dislike her so much? And can they overcome their differences to help the animals be ready for opening day?
    This was a cute, fun story – what animal lover hasn’t dreamed of living at a zoo? Zoe is living the dream, getting to feed lemurs and Humboldt penguins, take care of guinea pigs, and even watch a zebra give birth. It’s so much fun getting to meet all the animals with her, and see how she grows as she takes on more responsibility and learns how to get along with people who aren’t exactly happy she’s around. After all, it’s not always easy settling into a new place, between getting along with new people and finding one’s way around, especially when you’re made to feel unwanted, as Oliver does of Zoe. But Zoe is determined to prove her worth and ability to be helpful around the zoo, no matter what Oliver thinks or says of her. At the same time, Zoe is also realizing that her parents need her help to look after her little brother Rory while they prepare for opening day, which is no easy thing when he’s afraid of ghosts in their new (old) house. She has a lot to deal with, and she learns a lot about how to get along with others and take responsibility in the weeks leading up to and including (re)opening day.
    Most of the book is about showing us around Tanglewood Animal Park and its inhabitants and keepers, relegating the “mystery” of the missing zebra to only the last few chapters. Contrary to how ( Escape from Wolfhaven Castle had a similar distribution of setup and title mystery space), in Tanglewood there was a lot going on to enjoy – meeting animals, learning more about Oliver and why he acts the way he does towards Zoe and Rory, learning how to feed and take care of animals, and a kids’ perspective when her parents buy a fixer-upper zoo. I enjoyed getting to “learn my way” around the zoo with Zoe, and felt that her getting used to her new home was just as important to the plot as anything regarding the titular zebra. All that to say, this environment of a fixer-upper zoo was new enough to me to keep my interest far more than learning my way around a pretty standard medieval-type fantasy castle, and I enjoyed it that much more for it. Did I mention getting to meet Humboldt penguins and “see” a baby zebra get born? There was definitely always something new going on to see and do at Tanglewood, and it made for a quite fun read.

[Ms. Meghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zoe’s parents have bought a failing zoo and now she lives in the manor house on zoo grounds and helps out with taking care of the animals. The short description provided by the publisher makes this seem a lot lighter and fluffier than it actually is. I was expecting this to be similar to some of our other animal-based chapter book series for younger readers, but I was pleasantly surprised by the depth of the subject matter and quality of the writing. In addition to animal care, Baby Zebra Rescue touches on bullying, parental death and mourning, making friends, and being responsible. The geographical setting is nebulous; it’s probably in the UK but it could also be North America. One of the keepers is from South Africa, but there’s minimal physical descriptions of any of the characters.

This is a more advanced chapter book with no illustrations, clocking in at 13 chapters and 160 pages. It’s very well researched. The author really did her homework and this is one of the best “zoo” fiction books I’ve seen, regardless of age group (and that’s me speaking from over 15 years in the animal keeping field). Animals get seriously injured (they get better!) and escape and wow, the author nailed the sinking “did I fasten that lock?” feeling. There are fun zebra facts and a Junior Zookeeper quiz in the back once you’ve finished the story. There are some plot points that are left unresolved at the end, but this is the first book in a trilogy.

Baby Zebra Rescue is definitely recommended for animal lovers and anyone looking for a more advanced early chapter book.

Review originally published at Galesburg Public Library Blog: https://galesburglibrary.org/gpl-blog/

[Amy Roach · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is super cute! It’s a story about a family who purchase an animal park, Tanglewood Animal Park. Zoe and her family have 2 weeks to fix up the park before the grand reopening.

Prior to Zoe’s parents buying the park, Oliver and his dad lived in the house that Zoe’s family moves into. Oliver has just lost his mom and home. He’s having a hard time adjusting and takes it out on Zoe and her family.

One of the zebras is pregnant and Zoe is able to watch the foal be born. She and Oliver name him Flash.

Zoe has many adventures helping all the care givers at the zoo and they finally make it to opening day. Then somehow Flash gets out of the pen and they have to find him. Zoe and Oliver find him with 10 minutes to spare!

[Lyndia Ramsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an adorable book with a great story. It has well developed characters, an interesting plot, and there is SO much more to it than the summary implies! Perfect for upper elementary or any animal lover who would love to live in and help run an animal park! It even has some internet quick links in the back to explore the animals mentioned in the book! I ordered the other two in the series and hope they'll write more.❤

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zoe's parents recently bought their own zoo and Zoe is full of excitement. Unfortunately there are challenges right from the start. Oliver, the Head Veterinarian's son, who also lives at Tanglewood Animal Park is determined to be unkind her. It seems that her efforts to be friendly are in vain. It wasn't until a baby zebra goes missing and they are forced to work together to rescue him that the children are able to become friends.

[Dinah ✨Keefe's Only✨Setter #7-15 J · Rating 4 out of 5]

To start this off, the rescue wasn't even until like- the LAST TWO CHAPTERS OF THE BOOK. I found that kind of annoying. (I would've fired whoever left that gate open. They almost ruined the entire point of the zoo...)
Oliver is a complete jerk, Zoe is a little baby, Rory is too smart with animals for only being four, and the parents aren't acting like parents throughout the entire book! UGH!
(Anyway)
Between 3-41/2 stars, not enough for five.

[Audrey Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great middle grade read for animal lovers. Filled with lessons on friendship, getting along, problem solving, seeing something from someone else’s viewpoint... Developed characters and storyline!

[Brittany Libell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is sometimes funny and sometimes a little sad. When they mix, it gives you a happy feeling.

Even though Oliver is mean to Zoe at the beginning of the story, by the end they learn to be friends and to work together. That makes a happy ending.

- Harper, age 7

[Ava]

IT WA

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute read with my daughter. We are curious to see what happens in other adventures of the series!

[Ed · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely realistic book about life in a zoo

[Fabulous Book Fiend · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review: this is the first in a series of middle grade novels by Tamsyn Murray and so in this book we get to meet a new family, moving in and taking over Tanglewood Animal Park. The main character who will take us on our Tanglewood adventures over the series is Zoe. Zoe has had to move home and is now facing the start of a new school year in a new school but she is animal mad and so we hope that things are going to work out well for her. I really like the fact that we saw everything through Zoe's eyes in this book. It meant that we could relate to everything and really get to know how she was feeling. I liked her as a character and love the fact that she is going to be taking us on the Tanglewood adventures.

Of course we have Zoe's mum and dad in this book, as well as little brother Rory, vet Max, the other keepers and Zoe's new freind Oliver. Oliver adds a lot to the mix in this book, he seems to be a bit of a problem for Zoe, but I like the fact that she has this adversity to overcome. I'm really looking forwa to getting to know Oliver as the books go on (great name too!). Of course the other characters we get to grab just a glimpse of in this book are the animals in the park. This book obviously has a focus on a new baby zebra but there are also some seriously cute guinea pigs (my favourite) as well as snow leopards, lemurs and other big cats. I'm really looking forward to meeting more of them in future books.

You can tell that this book was seriously well-researched. There is a lot of technical information woven into the storyline. It is written so well that you might not notice it unless you were looking for it but all the details about the care of the animals, the wildlife park itself and technical details about the creatures too is clearly well-checked. I felt like a learned a little about animal care when reading this, and also a little about what it takes to run a zoo/wildlife park. It never felt like I was being 'told' these things though and so I think that Tamsyn has done a really great job of mixing fact and a great storyline featuring a cracking heroine. I really recommend that you add this book to your shelves or give it to someone as a back to school present and I can't wait to read the next book in the series!

[Mattie]

Zoe’s parents have just bought the Tanglewood Animal Park and Zoe is extremely excited to move in! She quickly adapts to life at the zoo and loves helping the zoo keepers take care of the animals.

But life isn’t perfect at the zoo. Zoe gets the feeling that Oliver, the zoo vet’s son, doesn’t like her or her family. When the newborn baby zebra goes missing, Oliver blames Zoe, but if they are going to find the baby zebra in time, they may just have to work together.

Strengths
This book is perfect for animal lovers. It offers a lot of information about various animals and gives a good insight to life in a zoo. Unlike other zoo/animal stories, this book also focuses on the relationships between Zoe, her family and the zoo workers. The book nicely weaves together educational information about taking care of animals and the relationships between characters. The dynamic between Zoe and Oliver is particularly interesting to read.

Weaknesses
The baby zebra rescue is only a very small part of the book and comes at the very end. Because of the way the book is presented and marketed, some readers may be disappointed that it does not feature more heavily in the story.

I personally did not find Zoe to be very likeable as the main character. I think that some children may struggle to relate to her and be engaged with the narrative.

Summary
Overall, this is a sweet, educational story that would appeal to animal lovers. I am keen to read more stories in the series before purchasing any for my library. I hope that the “rescue” makes up a greater part of the story in the next few books.

[Meghan Bohn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zoe’s parents have bought a failing zoo and now she lives in the manor house on zoo grounds and helps out with taking care of the animals. The short description provided by the publisher makes this seem a lot lighter and fluffier than it actually is. I was expecting this to be similar to some of our other animal-based chapter book series for younger readers, but I was pleasantly surprised by the depth of the subject matter and quality of the writing. In addition to animal care, Baby Zebra Rescue touches on bullying, parental death and mourning, making friends, and being responsible. The geographical setting is nebulous; it’s probably in the UK but it could also be North America. One of the keepers is from South Africa, but there’s minimal physical descriptions of any of the characters.

This is a more advanced chapter book with no illustrations, clocking in at 13 chapters and 160 pages. It’s very well researched. The author really did her homework and this is one of the best “zoo” fiction books I’ve seen, regardless of age group (and that’s me speaking from over 15 years in the animal keeping field). Animals get seriously injured (they get better!) and escape and wow, the author nailed the sinking “did I fasten that lock?” feeling. There are fun zebra facts and a Junior Zookeeper quiz in the back once you’ve finished the story. There are some plot points that are left unresolved at the end, but this is the first book in a trilogy.

Baby Zebra Rescue is definitely recommended for animal lovers and anyone looking for a more advanced early chapter book.

Review originally published at Galesburg Public Library Blog: https://galesburglibrary.org/gpl-blog/

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little pleasure to read with a child. It's the story of a family who moves into a mansion on a run down run site. The parents are trying to renovate the park in time for opening day. Zoe, the eldest child, loves animals and wants to be involved, but the vet's son, Oliver, stands in the way of her enjoying her new home and this new experience, jealous of her moving into his old home and taking over in Tanglewood Park. Younger brother, Rory, comes under Zoe's care because the parents are so stressed with all the preparations. Through all the emotional turmoil, Zoe has to deal with injured hamsters, someone throwing her rucksack in a heap of dung and escaped baby zebras. The story mixes plenty of factual information about the animals into the narrative. It will appeal to kids who love the idea of caring for animals. Zoe is a great lead character and Oliver is a good, grumpy foil. Their developing friendship keeps the tension going to the end and the realism of the animal problems make this a very grounded, unflowery children's novel - it's nothing particularly special, but the right kids at the right age will love it. 5

[Keris · Rating 5 out of 5]

We loved this. Joe said "Ten out of ten! Would read again!" (It's educational as well as charming and entertaining.)