Rainbow Street pets by Wendy Orr

Allen and Unwin , 2012. ISBN 978174237 9081
(Ages: 8+) Highly recommended. Short stories. Animals. The author of the books about Nim, again reveals her skills at teaching young readers about animals and how to look after them in this book of 6 stories about the Rainbow Street Shelter. The stories may be about animals and finding a human to look after them but each story contains a considerable amount of information about the animal and its care, as well as showcasing the range of animals suitable for homes and families of various types.
The first, Lost Dog Bear is about a family breakup. Mum and her son move to the city, leaving dad to work on the farm. Much discussion occurs about where Bear the sheep dog will be and eventually he moves to the city too. But he gets lost. During his first day at school, Lachlan is about to tell about his lost dog when a girl in his class tells a story about finding a dog during the holidays. So all is resolved, the two becomes friend and the dog is found.
The next story continues the tale of the two friends, while the third introduces a new family living in a flat and wanting a small pet. The next story is about Mona's feelings for animals and tells an amusing tale of her encounters with a lion cub. Mona's childhood interest has led her to set up the Rainbow Street Shelter.
Each of the stories is positive and informative, engaging and neatly resolved, and will be highly appealing to middle primary people wanting a story to read or to read all the stories as one novel.
Fran Knight