What do you think?
Rate this book
Adventures with a Yorkshire Vet: Lambing Time and Other Animal Tales
This classic collection of animal stories follows the adventures of a local vet and the various animals who need his help and care. From a poorly cow who needs urgent treatment, a lost pony who needs rescuing or even a cheeky cat who keeps getting into mischief, this heartwarming collection of animal tales, set against the beautiful, snowy backdrop of the stunning Yorkshire landscape, is perfect to be shared together at this special time of year.
240 pages, Hardcover
Published October 1, 2022
About the author
Julian Norton
16 books39 followersJulian Norton is a British veterinary surgeon, author and TV personality, best known for his appearances on the Channel 5 TV series The Yorkshire Vet
Norton was born and brought up in the mining town of Castleford and went to school in Wakefield at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, before gaining a place to study veterinary medicine at Cambridge University
Since 2015, Norton has been involved, taking the titular role in Channel 5 docuseries The Yorkshire Vet, produced by Daisybeck Studios in Leeds. The programme has been popular, achieving viewing figures of over 2 million, making it one of the channel's most successful.Julian has also featured as a regular guest on The Wright Stuff as well as Springtime on the Farm and Big Week at the Zoo.
He contributes a weekly column in The Country Week of The Yorkshire Post.
He performs regular "in conversation" events with comedian and stand up poet, Kate Fox.
Julian's website is www.thenakedvet.co.uk which offers links to the podcasts of the same name, which he performs with Kate Fox.
Norton attained a certificate in Small Animal Practice in 2007 and has been awarded the Dalesman "Yorkshireman of the Year 2017".
Norton was born and brought up in the mining town of Castleford and went to school in Wakefield at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, before gaining a place to study veterinary medicine at Cambridge University
Since 2015, Norton has been involved, taking the titular role in Channel 5 docuseries The Yorkshire Vet, produced by Daisybeck Studios in Leeds. The programme has been popular, achieving viewing figures of over 2 million, making it one of the channel's most successful.Julian has also featured as a regular guest on The Wright Stuff as well as Springtime on the Farm and Big Week at the Zoo.
He contributes a weekly column in The Country Week of The Yorkshire Post.
He performs regular "in conversation" events with comedian and stand up poet, Kate Fox.
Julian's website is www.thenakedvet.co.uk which offers links to the podcasts of the same name, which he performs with Kate Fox.
Norton attained a certificate in Small Animal Practice in 2007 and has been awarded the Dalesman "Yorkshireman of the Year 2017".
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 7, 2022
Five smashing stars for the book that has a bit of every creature you’d want to read about! It feels like it’s been years (and it has been!) since there have been books like this - twenty years ago there were whole series dedicated to funny anecdotes of a day in the life of a veterinarian. Now, young readers have so much choice that real-life stories often don’t get a look in. This one was so worth all the looks in.
Following Yorkshire vet Julian Norton, as you’ve seen him on the telly, through some of his funniest and most memorable adventures with the locals (and their pets 😉). We see kittens, alpacas, lambing and of course piggies as he does his magic, alongside his own dog, and told in a format really accessible for younger readers. The illustrations are really nice too.
I’ll be keeping this one for my own children to one day read.
ARC provided from the publishers in exchange for an honest review.
Following Yorkshire vet Julian Norton, as you’ve seen him on the telly, through some of his funniest and most memorable adventures with the locals (and their pets 😉). We see kittens, alpacas, lambing and of course piggies as he does his magic, alongside his own dog, and told in a format really accessible for younger readers. The illustrations are really nice too.
I’ll be keeping this one for my own children to one day read.
ARC provided from the publishers in exchange for an honest review.
March 27, 2023
I hadn't realised this was meant to be a children's book until after I read it! I always enjoy Julian's books and have read all of them as an avid fan of The Yorkshire Vet.
This book was a short book for me, with 10 tales from farming adventures over the years in Julian's career. The illustrations throughout were brilliant, even in ebook format. Although I already knew some of the characters in the book from watching the TV show, the book was still a good read for me and I enjoyed it. Read in an hour or so, very easy read.
This book was a short book for me, with 10 tales from farming adventures over the years in Julian's career. The illustrations throughout were brilliant, even in ebook format. Although I already knew some of the characters in the book from watching the TV show, the book was still a good read for me and I enjoyed it. Read in an hour or so, very easy read.
December 27, 2024
This is such a lovely set of stories telling of the tales of the different animals and their problems which vet Julian Norton has encountered. A micro-pig meets a pug with a foot problem at the vet clinic before encountering a similar problem at home; an alpaca needs help after eating far too much food; a calf needs to be born in the middle of cold Christmas night; a talking parakeet is found who is very friendly, these and several other stories make up the ten tales about the various experiences Norton has had while working as a new vet at his practice in Yorkshire.
The book begins with a forward by the author before then sharing ten different tales of the different animal encounters he’s had while working as a new vet. Each story has its own title and I love how interesting each of these stories is and how much you learn about life as a Yorkshire vet when reading them too. The book begins with a story of a micro-pig who isn’t your typical animal that’s brought into a vet clinic. This story, with its accompanying pictures, made me smile right away and sets up the rest of the book to be a fun and heart-warming read.
As you read through the different stories you learn about the different and sometimes strange problems that vets have to encounter, a particularly memorable story for me is the genius and unconventional way Norton treats an alpaca who has eaten far too much food, and I love how you instantly feel for both vet and animal while you read these stories. It’s amazing how interesting and wonderful each tale is and I found myself unable to put this book down after picking it up. I haven’t ever watched the Yorkshire Vet before, although I did used to enjoy All Creatures Great and Small when it was on tv when I was younger, and I didn’t know much about lambing and the other problems that farm animals often have, but each of these stories were not only lovely to read but also fascinating too, especially when you learn about what happens with one cow that’s given birth but has problems, or the difficulties of helping a sheep to do the same. Each of these tales is interesting and also so lovely to read due to the illustrations which are dotted throughout the book.
Each story has several illustrations which appear of various pages and they are all in black white and grey. I adore these images so much and they really bring to life the magic of the stories and make you feel for the animals and their owners so much. The pictures all look like pencil sketches, but they are so detailed that you just find them so amazing and beautiful to look at and I couldn’t help but love seeing all the different animals in their various different poses, and I just loved moments like the horse with the little girl, or the mothers with their babies. There are also some fun images of Norton’s own dog Emmy, including a lovely one on the last page too! This book is good on its own, but it’s just so much more special with the illustrations.
Every one of these tales is interesting to read, with my favourites being the one about the parakeet, and another about a farmer’s best friend. The stories are interesting and so very heart-warming to read. This whole collection takes place during the winter months and you can see how Norton is a new vet but also becoming more experienced through the weeks and months of the stories in the book too. Overall this is such a lovely collection of animal tales, featuring a variety of animals from cats, pigs and parakeets to horses, cows, sheep and even alpaca, that regardless of whether kids have ever watched The Yorkshire Vet, I’m sure many of them will enjoy reading about the various animals and the antics of them and what happens to them in this lovely book. The hardback is light in weight but features some golden foil lettering and you just can’t help but love that cover image too! I can’t wait for the next book with more animal tales from Norton!
-Thanks to Walker Books for a free copy.
The book begins with a forward by the author before then sharing ten different tales of the different animal encounters he’s had while working as a new vet. Each story has its own title and I love how interesting each of these stories is and how much you learn about life as a Yorkshire vet when reading them too. The book begins with a story of a micro-pig who isn’t your typical animal that’s brought into a vet clinic. This story, with its accompanying pictures, made me smile right away and sets up the rest of the book to be a fun and heart-warming read.
As you read through the different stories you learn about the different and sometimes strange problems that vets have to encounter, a particularly memorable story for me is the genius and unconventional way Norton treats an alpaca who has eaten far too much food, and I love how you instantly feel for both vet and animal while you read these stories. It’s amazing how interesting and wonderful each tale is and I found myself unable to put this book down after picking it up. I haven’t ever watched the Yorkshire Vet before, although I did used to enjoy All Creatures Great and Small when it was on tv when I was younger, and I didn’t know much about lambing and the other problems that farm animals often have, but each of these stories were not only lovely to read but also fascinating too, especially when you learn about what happens with one cow that’s given birth but has problems, or the difficulties of helping a sheep to do the same. Each of these tales is interesting and also so lovely to read due to the illustrations which are dotted throughout the book.
Each story has several illustrations which appear of various pages and they are all in black white and grey. I adore these images so much and they really bring to life the magic of the stories and make you feel for the animals and their owners so much. The pictures all look like pencil sketches, but they are so detailed that you just find them so amazing and beautiful to look at and I couldn’t help but love seeing all the different animals in their various different poses, and I just loved moments like the horse with the little girl, or the mothers with their babies. There are also some fun images of Norton’s own dog Emmy, including a lovely one on the last page too! This book is good on its own, but it’s just so much more special with the illustrations.
Every one of these tales is interesting to read, with my favourites being the one about the parakeet, and another about a farmer’s best friend. The stories are interesting and so very heart-warming to read. This whole collection takes place during the winter months and you can see how Norton is a new vet but also becoming more experienced through the weeks and months of the stories in the book too. Overall this is such a lovely collection of animal tales, featuring a variety of animals from cats, pigs and parakeets to horses, cows, sheep and even alpaca, that regardless of whether kids have ever watched The Yorkshire Vet, I’m sure many of them will enjoy reading about the various animals and the antics of them and what happens to them in this lovely book. The hardback is light in weight but features some golden foil lettering and you just can’t help but love that cover image too! I can’t wait for the next book with more animal tales from Norton!
-Thanks to Walker Books for a free copy.
October 27, 2022
Beautifully illustrated, Herriot-reminiscent collection of vet tales for children.
I loved James Herriott's stories growing up, I saw them on TV, in films and eventually read some of the books. This is reminiscent of course, being based in the same area and by a vet who worked in the same practice!
Definitely targeted at a younger audience, Julian and his lovely dog share with us ten tales of memorable vet experiences he had when first starting out, some in the dead of night, some in the surgery. All with a lot of heart and that end with a warm smile from both him and us.
The illustrations are beautiful, what looks like pencil sketches of Julian and the animals, very realistic and wonderful to look at. They help give the book a bit of a nostalgic feeling.
The book itself doesn't appear to be simplified for a young audience, he tells his tales straight, no overt silly humour, but all are suitable for primary school listeners (or readers), and will be of great interest - escaped kittens, rogue parakeets, birthing sheep, overeating alpacas!
A great selection of stories, and one I might try with my 5 year old.
With thanks to Walker Books for providing a sample reading copy.
I loved James Herriott's stories growing up, I saw them on TV, in films and eventually read some of the books. This is reminiscent of course, being based in the same area and by a vet who worked in the same practice!
Definitely targeted at a younger audience, Julian and his lovely dog share with us ten tales of memorable vet experiences he had when first starting out, some in the dead of night, some in the surgery. All with a lot of heart and that end with a warm smile from both him and us.
The illustrations are beautiful, what looks like pencil sketches of Julian and the animals, very realistic and wonderful to look at. They help give the book a bit of a nostalgic feeling.
The book itself doesn't appear to be simplified for a young audience, he tells his tales straight, no overt silly humour, but all are suitable for primary school listeners (or readers), and will be of great interest - escaped kittens, rogue parakeets, birthing sheep, overeating alpacas!
A great selection of stories, and one I might try with my 5 year old.
With thanks to Walker Books for providing a sample reading copy.
November 5, 2022
Very sweet read. It is what it says on the tin, no more, no less. Perfect for any animal lover and especially farm animal lover. Some parts might have been a little bit graphic for younger children (esp. description of animal's births), so bear that in mind. I hoped for the adventures to have a more unexpected element in them, there was nothing much surprising, but still, it was a very pleasant read.
August 2, 2023
What a lovely quick read! Read within an hour and bit, this is a childrens book but is a good easy read.
I loved the different chapters where we met different animals and Julian's approach to them all.
Well done on your first children's book Julian.
I loved the different chapters where we met different animals and Julian's approach to them all.
Well done on your first children's book Julian.
August 19, 2024
A series of charming stories of the life and work of a veterinarian in rural England. An excellent kids' book, most of the stories are emotional with sweet endings, but the writer doesn't talk down to his reader either.
December 31, 2024
A gorgeous book to escape into for a few hours I just wish it was longer.
March 19, 2023
A delightful collection of stories from a vet in Yorkshire! Lambs, dumb alpaca/llamas, a cute dog, and more!
I came across this book during bloghopping and just knew I had to get it! I just love stories like this and the illustrations also looked really sweet~
In this book we meet Julian, he is a vet in the Yorkshire region and we follow him on his vet-adventures. From faraway farms in the snow to help with lambing to helping out a cow because things went floppy to 2 found kitties and the adventures one of them has, and more. There are a lot of animals that will pass by in this book! There is a lot and I loved every story fully. I was eager to see what would be next for our vet and what kind of animal we would meet next. A lot of the stories were sweet and cute and hopeful, but some had me really worried and (almost) crying. Like with those alpacas/llamas that ate til they were so full that they almost died or with the dog that had to be put to sleep as things just weren’t working. The writing style really is well done, I could just imagine being there with Julian as he was doing his things.
I also liked that we got to see how Julian got to be a vet, and that he wasn’t an expert when the stories started. We see that he tries to think off solutions, and sometimes other people give him tips, it was great to see him grow as the stories continued.
And I just loved reading about Julian’s dog, how she often went along with him to his vet visits. She is so cute!
The illustrations were really good, well, and I have to be honest, generally the animals were drawn to perfection and seemed to pop off the page, but the humans often looked a bit odd/off.
All in all, I need more of this vet! I am considering also checking out his adult non-fiction works to see if that one is fun as well~ I would recommend this one to all.
Review first posted https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
I came across this book during bloghopping and just knew I had to get it! I just love stories like this and the illustrations also looked really sweet~
In this book we meet Julian, he is a vet in the Yorkshire region and we follow him on his vet-adventures. From faraway farms in the snow to help with lambing to helping out a cow because things went floppy to 2 found kitties and the adventures one of them has, and more. There are a lot of animals that will pass by in this book! There is a lot and I loved every story fully. I was eager to see what would be next for our vet and what kind of animal we would meet next. A lot of the stories were sweet and cute and hopeful, but some had me really worried and (almost) crying. Like with those alpacas/llamas that ate til they were so full that they almost died or with the dog that had to be put to sleep as things just weren’t working. The writing style really is well done, I could just imagine being there with Julian as he was doing his things.
I also liked that we got to see how Julian got to be a vet, and that he wasn’t an expert when the stories started. We see that he tries to think off solutions, and sometimes other people give him tips, it was great to see him grow as the stories continued.
And I just loved reading about Julian’s dog, how she often went along with him to his vet visits. She is so cute!
The illustrations were really good, well, and I have to be honest, generally the animals were drawn to perfection and seemed to pop off the page, but the humans often looked a bit odd/off.
All in all, I need more of this vet! I am considering also checking out his adult non-fiction works to see if that one is fun as well~ I would recommend this one to all.
Review first posted https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews