Star- Holly Webb

Oh this is such a wonderfully wintery and Christmassy tale that hits ALL the things you want from a frosty festive tale, heartwarming, triumph and family, this time focusing on a real Russian tiger and the dream of a young girl of what it may be like in a Russian winter.

Cover art by Brittany Teckentrup interior pictures by Jo Anne Davies Artful Doodlers.

When Anna stays over with her Russian grandmother it’s always a treat to look at her figurine collection, but when a news story and a carved tiger catches her eye, this time her grandmother lets her take it to her bedside table.

In the night Anna is transformed into her cousin Anouska who lives near Vladivostok and goes on a heart rending adventure into the winter woods to save the life of an orphaned and needy tiger cub against the advice of everyone, but she knows in her heart that little star needs her.

This is such a gorgeous gorgeous story, I ended up a little emotional in a happy winter season kind of way and the fact that Star is based on a real story of a lost tiger cub found with a frost bitten tail is a way to understand about the ill-effects of winter,nature and how wild animals may look cute but we must respect them.

Holly Webb is on fine form as she applies the same approach from the animal magic series with respecting animals and being responsible yet still with a wonderful miraculous twist which will delight fans of her other stories such as The Winter Wolf.

The cover is illustrated by the amazing Britta Teckentrup and the interior illustrations are by Jo Anne Davies from the Artful Dodgers who whilst having their own unique talents share a recognisable style balancing soft realism with a playful touch and is perfect for this age group and style of story.

Ideal for fans of Holly’s Animal series and the first in this series Frost, and also for fans of Anne Booth’s Lucy stories which are also wonderfully wintery and animal themed.

I can see this nestling in our winter books for years to come with its tale of heart and grit and the balance between respecting the wild and making efforts to conserve and protect these beautiful animals.

Star by Holly Webb illustrated by Jo Anne Davies and cover by Britta Teckentrup is published by Stripes.

Thank you for my copy 💜

Tiger image in Header thanks to @tchompalov unsplash.com