TITLE:
PETER LITTLE WING AND THE BAY OF ISLANDS
AUTHOR:
Regan W.H. Macaulay
ILLUSTRATOR:
Gordon Bagshaw
PUBLISHER:
Pandamonium Publishing House
PUBLISHED:
2025
ISBN:
978-1-998467-47-1
In
PETER LITTLE WING AND THE BAY OF ISLANDS, Regan Macaulays’s sequel to PETER
LITTLE WING, the first book in the series, the adventures continue for Peter
and his friends, old and new, feathered and furred.
This
story finds Peter and his cousin, Bess, mistakenly released in the Northland, New
Zealand rather than into the wild of the South Island as intended. Peter and
Bess are third generation kiwi raised in captivity to see if they can modify
their behavior and live in family units which is not typical of their kind.
Peter and Bess are doing so well and have finally grown up enough to be released
back into the wild to see if they can spread this new way of life among others
as part of the kiwi recovery program, a mission to battle their endangerment,
in hopes they can pass on this new behavior and create family units of their
own to help the tokoeka thrive. However, they are mistakenly released in the
wrong place due to confusion from a “storm of destruction” in the exam room of Taraute
Springs where they are held for one night. Peter and Bess face many struggles
as they’ve been dumped in an area that is not their natural habitat. Angry and
territorial Northern brown kiwi as well as a large dog, Kurīpango, who has been
wreaking havoc on the bird population, are just some of the challenges they
face.
Fortunately,
Peter’s friend, Onion, had heard Peter’s warning trill of fear and spread the
word among their friends of Peter and Bess’s capture and need for saving, and a
plan, therefore, was hatched. There are many ups and downs on their recovery
adventure to find Peter and Bess, all the while Peter and Bess are on a mission
to travel back south and get home to their friends and family. Once again, The
Sheep Network and new friends along the way work to try to bring the groups
back together in a very special place, called Waitomo Caves. But, will each
group be able to reach the meeting place in the face of all the dangers that
lie ahead? And, if so, what will it mean for the future of all?
There
are so many stories within the story that are so engaging. Macaulay sprinkles
beautiful and fun language throughout (“water sparkled like stars falling
gently over a cliff,” “we should rattle our dags”), and her voice and language
paint a picture of vivid scenery that is easy to imagine. All characters, old
and new, are relatable and engaging, and we see much friendship and compassion
throughout which is understandable and familiar for children and adults alike.
Macaulay
again, as in PETER LITTLE WING, weaves a beautiful story of friendship, family
and legacy with beautiful language and vivid imagery, creating a book that is
hard to put down. Perfect for middle grade, animal-loving adventurers. Highly
recommend!
In
addition, the ending hints at possible adventures yet to come which is a
delightful way to end leaving readers yearning for the next book in the PETER
LITTLE WING series (the first chapter of which is provided).
***DISCLAIMER:
I received a PDF copy of this book free of charge in exchange for my honest
review. This review consists of my honest opinions, not influenced in any way
by the author. I did not receive any monetary compensation nor any other
incentive in exchange for my review.
