Wildsmith Into the Dark Forest

About this book

When war threatens her city, Rowan and her mother flee to the remote Dark Forest. There Rowan meets her grandpa and his white wolf Arto for the first time. Her grandpa looks after sick animals, with queues forming all day outside his workshop. Exploring the Dark Forest near his house, Rowan finds a baby dragon! Poachers have captured the mother dragon, and Rowan knows she must protect the baby. Soon she discovers that her grandpa is a wildsmith – a healer of magical animals. And he and Rowan must call on all their friends – magical and not – to defeat the ruthless poachers once and for all.

This is the first in a series of magical animal adventures, and it’s delightfully engaging. It’s relatively short, and full of charming illustrations. It’s not only for keen animal lovers – though the dragon characters are particularly cute – as there is a subtle eco theme running throughout. The relationship between Rowan and the dragon is very nurturing and kind, and there are friendship issues to wrestle with too, as Rowan meets someone who isn’t keen at being usurped at the wildsmith’s side. An accessible read, with mild peril and gorgeous mythical animals.