Noah Wild and the Floating Zoo

by Alexander McCall Smith, Nicola Kinnear (Illustrator)

It's full-time monkey business on the high seas in this new family adventure from Alexander McCall Smith, the bestselling author of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series.

Noah can’t believe it when he finds out his uncle owns a zoo! But the zoo is closing down, and there are animals who need homes. Before he knows it, Noah and his family are setting sail on a round-the-world trip returning the zoo animals to the places they were born.

Genres: Fiction

121 pages, Hardcover

First published August 6, 2020

About the author

Alexander McCall Smith is the author of the international phenomenon The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, the Isabel Dalhousie Series, the Portuguese Irregular Verbs series, and the 44 Scotland Street series. He is professor emeritus of medical law at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and has served on many national and international bodies concerned with bioethics. He was born in what is now known as Zimbabwe and he was a law professor at the University of Botswana. He lives in Scotland. Visit him online at www.alexandermccallsmith.com, on Facebook, and on Twitter.

Reviews

[Rebekah · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5*
The story opens with finding out that the parents are absent because they 'have to work', and the narrator excuses them by saying, sometimes parents have to do this even though they'd rather be at home with their kids. But they send money back, while they're on their travels. I really think that's the least they could do!! The kids are raised instead by their aunt.
I don't think authors should excuse neglect and abandonment and pretend like it's actually care and love. No one 'has' to get a job with their spouse that requires them both to be NEVER be at home and travelling all the time, and so 'have to' get your sister to raise your kids for you. I understand families are complex, but this situation is just bizarre. These parents could get a job nearer home, but they presumably prefer not to. In fact, you find out that the parents just do what they want, rather than thinking of their children, because in the end they decide to come home because they got tired of climbing mountains. Not because they want to be with their children or raise them!

To be honest, this put me off entirely, and I couldn't appreciate anything that was actually good.
I guess at least the aunt and uncle were shown very positively.

[Jamie Sherwood · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reading this with my daughter it was fine, but she never engaged with it in the way she has other books weve read together. It's a bit ordinary and bland, and unfortunately quite forgettable.

[Tori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for sending me a copy of this eARC to read in exchange of an honest review.

This was such a cute middle grade book. Both the writing by McCall Smith and the illustrations by Kinnear were beautifully done. Noah and his sister get whipped away to a high-sea adventure with their aunt and uncle as they wait for their parents to come home from their work in the mountains.

What an adventure awaits them!

The star of the book has to be the monkey, what fun is had by all!!

[Ellen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh let me list the ways this book annoys me.

Dull characters who don’t have any emotions even though their parents chose to climb mountains rather than be with them.

A mystery zoo owned by a traveling uncle.

Returning animals to their native countries with no hint of the issues this would entail.

Curry powder being deemed spicy.

Monkeys coming only from Africa.

Utter lack of animal knowledge.

Poor writing that even my 8 yr old didn’t enjoy.

[Kylie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute read, would be a good one to read aloud to a junior class as it is fun and would generate some good discussion.

[Mihyeon Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story, It was good to start reading English book for me, Thank you

[Lily Stokes · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a good laugh and quite good 😊 My Favourite character is definitely the monkey 🙊
I would recommend!!!