This beautiful children’s novel by award-winning adult writer Favel Parrett is an animal rescue story told from the perspective of an alpine dingo. When the young dingo is swept away from its loving dingo family by a wedge-tailed eagle, it begins a terrifying journey to find a safe home again. Meeting kind humans who help, but also encountering evidence of humans who hurt dingoes, Wandi eventually finds a safe haven at a dingo sanctuary. Written in simple but also poetic language, this is a heartwarming story for young animal lovers, although there are a few scary scenes that might upset more sensitive readers.

Loosely based on the true story of a real dingo at the Dingo Sanctuary and Research Centre in regional Victoria, Wandi also has a factual section at the end providing more information about dingoes and their importance to our ecology. It will educate many on how we must protect Australia’s native dog and apex predator. Wandi is truly a very special book that will be adored by animal lovers aged 7+.

Angela Crocombe is the book buyer at Readings Kids and a children’s and YA online book specialist.