Trouble at the zoo by Chris Kunz

Bindi wildlife adventures (series). Random House Australia, 2010. ISBN 9781864719963.
(Ages 8+) The first in the series about Bindi Irwin and her life at the remarkable Australia Zoo, will have wide appeal. Not only is a young girl living out the dream of many, living and working in a zoo, but the books are full of information about animals and their welfare told in an engaging and witty style. Kids will be hooked from page one. The adventures are not outlandish, but gentle stories of Bindi and her friends at the zoo.
When in this the first in the series, a spoilt 10 year old steals one of the water dragons, Bindi and her animal friends discover the theft and put things right, engaging a new friend along the way, a happy result for the thief. At the end of this easy to read and short book are 5 pages about the water dragon and their upkeep.
This is a better series than many I have seen. I was particularly impressed that the thief in this book came good at the end, and regretted his action. And any put downs of other people was mild and dealt with, rather than lead the story around bullying, a pet topic in many books I have recently read. There are eight books so far in this series, all about the same length, easy to read with wide margins and large font.
Fran Knight