When I was approached to by the publisher to give ‘Finding Hope’ a read, once I'd read the press release, it didn't matter that I'd never heard of Whistledown Farm or Nicola Baker from her TV series ‘Our Farm on the Dales’ or any subsequent related publicity. I did have a petit niggle in the back of my mind as to whether Nicola had had a ghost/co-writer, like most celebrities do, however, chatting to her PR I absolutely felt on board due to the obvious gap of representation in contemporary middle grade fiction for children living in rural communities. I had high ‘hopes’ (pun intended)!! Ha!
 
I absolutely loved this book. Hats off! Nicola has written this herself, she hasn't a secret writer penning her farmyard adventure story. Yay or should I say Baa! The author used to write a lot when she was younger, and has been thrilled to have been given the opportunity to revisit her passion now that her life with her family on the farm is settled, and providing endless sources of inspiration for her new Children's book series. She sent an online message to us at the publisher event in London yesterday and explained that she wanted to connect farming/seasons/nature in her stories so that children living in rural settings will be able to see themselves in a book, and the children living in cities will be able to use their imagination to escape to the country! Moreover, she feel that by writing about farm life, and the more importantly the more day-to-day running of a farm, children may find out that “passions may lie in the things we least expect”…. which leads me nicely into my review of the book!
 
10 year old Ava spends a couple of weeks at with her Aunt Kitty, Uncle John, and cousin Tom on their farm during the Easter holidays, and it's the life-changing, life-affirming she never knew she needed. Having grown up in the city with her mum and dad, Ava has barely spent any time noticing nature. Mum and Dad are important scientists, workaholics most likely, excited about their breakthrough, they head off to the USA, leaving Ava feeling like a fish out of water at Whistledown Farm. As loving as her Aunt and Uncle are, Ava has to constantly balance her feelings of abandonment with new feelings of not fitting into the bustling dawn ‘til dusk duties of caring for the animals, fields and woodland. It doesn’t help that Tom, also 10, is resentful of Ava's new found enthusiasm and bravado for a life that she has never previously cared to take an interest before when in visiting. 
 
As the story picks up pace, so Ava's outlook lifts, and she is fascinated and hands on with lambing, feeding the chickens, mending fences and keeping an eye out across the fields and woods for things that need sorting out to keep them all safe. Children reading the story, without any knowledge or experience of lambing, like myself, will find these events so interesting and unforgettable. It's easy to feel as though you are standing right next to Ava as she watches the newborn lambs being born, the angst as to whether the ewe will help it take its first breath and nurture it. Ava discovers a lost lamb in the fields, barely clinging to life, who she names ‘Hope’, and through her tireless and self-sacrificing efforts to love and care for Hope, together they overcome their sorrows and become inseparable. 
 
There are many ups and downs as Ava and Tom develop their friendship, and in the end blood is absolutely thicker than water, as they tackle a very serious problem and solve a mystery involving criminal intruders towards the end of the story - a very gripping episode!! 
 
With themes including living in the city vs the countryside, the reality of life out in nature where life and death are daily occurrences, empathy towards kids who don't have the love and attention from their parents ending up with abandonment issues, the restorative and confidence building of being in nature and working the land, connecting humans and animals in ways that brings about new understandings to the symbiotic relationship between both life cycles and the food chain. Where there are many younger reader chapter book fiction series for animal lovers featuring pets and farm animals, this is a welcome series for the slightly older and more advanced reader. Adorable black and white illustrations by the highly respected Rachael Dean throughout. Book 2 ‘Rescuing Ruby’ is available for preorder/adding to your Wishlist, out in October 2024.

This book is such a pleasure to read and I can easily picture children of 7-10 enjoying it. It reminded me of books i enjoyed reading when i was little. It had adventure, mystery, loving aunt and uncle, an annoying cousin and a fabulous farm with lambs. Ava is left with her aunt and uncle on their farm while her parents go abroad for their work. She has to help out on the farm and try to get on with her cousin Tom. They don't see eye to eye at all and Ava desperately misses her parents.She brings a baby lamb bak to the farmhouse and is given the responsibility of looking after it. Aunt Kitty is lovely and very much the maternal figure. Uncle John is more reserved and a background character. The story is winsome and a definite throwback to books or yore. Even as an adult I can't wait for more adventures at Whistledown Farm. I have already asked our school librarian to purchase a few copies for our school. Thank you for allowing me to read this book and to have so man y warm memories flood back.

This is a lovely children’s book about Ava who has to live on her aunts farm for 2 weeks as her parents need to travel for work. She’s used to city life and is not looking forward to it. Her cousin Tom is being difficult towards her too which doesn’t help. She gets stuck in with her farming duties and finds a wee lamb on her walk which she thinks has been abandoned by its mother. Hope the lamb helps her through her time at the farm.

Lovely illustrations which bring a nice touch to this beautifully written book. Ava is a lovely girl and an easily likable character. A great book for a younger reader.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy.

Ava is a city girl who suddenly has to live with her uncle, aunt and cousin Tom in a farm. In the beginning, Ava feels so lonely, but with a lot of chores to do in the farm, slowly she’s starting to fit in around the farm, until the accidents with the chickens happened.
It’s a sweet book about friendship. It’s a light read suitable for children readers. The illustration through out the books are adorable!

There is a sweetness and simplicity about this story that reminds me of books written for children in earlier times. It was an easy and enjoyable read.

When Ava reluctantly swaps life in the city with her doctor parents for a stint on the farm with her uncle, aunt and cousin while her parents are travelling overseas, she soon finds herself out of her depth. The demands of a life on the land, taking care of the animals, is very alien to her.

And straightaway, to the great scorn of her cousin Tom, Ava begins her time there with what appears to be a mistake - removing a sickly lamb from its flock when she is unable to find its mother. But things are not always as they seem. Not with regard to the lamb, or Ava's suitability for farm life...

A warmhearted hug of a book.

Finding Hope is the story of ten year old Ava who heads to Whistledown Farm so that her aunt and uncle can care for her whilst her parents are away in America for their work.

On arrival, Ava finds it hard to settle in, she misses her parents and doesn't feel as though she quite fits in to life on the farm. She is out of her depth with the jobs that she is given and her cousin, Tom, seems to hate her although she has no idea why.

After a calamitous start, things go from bad to worse and yet in amongst the feelings of isolation and inadequacy, Ava finds, both emotionally and literally, Hope. Her relationship with the orphaned lamb gives her strength in some dark times and the passion that she starts to develop for Whistledown drives her to take risks in order to try to save the farm from a sinister threat.

Ava must race to find Hope, and in the process, she might just find herself.

This book has real heart and the underlying themes of loneliness, jealousy and belonging are gently explored in an age appropriate way.

A lovely mystery for lower KS2 readers with a love of Dick King Smith and Daisy Meadows who are ready for the next challenge but not yet mature enough for the content of some upper KS2 middle grade reads.

We read this book with children age 7-9.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for sending this eBook for review consideration. All opinions are our own.

I really enjoyed reading this book and the companionship between Ava and Hope. I look forward to reading this again with my 6 year old niece who I know is instantly going to live it. Took me back to my animal ark days! Thank you Nicola Baker and I can’t wait to read more in the future.

This book was really good and my favourite bit was when Hope got out of the dog pen and and left a few little gifts for the family, that bit made me laugh. There were a no errors in the book and I really enjoyed Finding Hope.
I think that this book could be made a little longer.