Read on if you love adventure and excitement, as there are a lot of both in The Extincts by Veronica Cossanteli. When George takes on a job at Wormestall Farm, he is very disappointed to find that the new girl at school, Prudence, has also been offered work there.

Life in their little English village is rather typical; however, Wormestall Farm is a most unusual place and houses a range of curious creatures. The eccentric owner, Mrs Lind, immediately gives the children significant responsibilities, which they learn to manage well despite the many dangers involved in caring for the rare animals there. George is not at all sure about Prudence initially. However, necessity forces him to work with her and, eventually, they form a real friendship.

Meanwhile, the villagers are increasingly concerned about repeated sightings of an enormous, mythical serpentine animal called the squermington wyrm. Legend has it that if you look at the wyrm, you’ll immediately be turned to stone. Prudence and George must keep all the goings-on at Wormestall secret in order to protect the animals there, but that’s getting harder and harder, especially with Prue’s evil step-mother and her goons on the lookout for something unusual to stuff for a taxidermy competition.

There is a lot of humour in The Extincts, and the action is pacey, with the children managing to get out of some extremely difficult situations without any help from the adults. In short, this is great fun to read and highly recommended for girls and boys aged 9 and up.

Kate Campbell