The animals of The Mighty Mikaere’s farm aren’t happy with Whetū Toa’s news. She’s off to the local school now that the school holidays are over. The bull who is easily upset, gallops off to cry and hide even though Whetū will still be looking after them morning and night and on her weekends.

Whetū’s replacement as The Mighty Mikaere Magician’s assistant isn’t working out that well either. Poppycock is a small rabbit and all of his practicing hasn’t ironed out his magical mistakes. There is no more time as the Magician’s tour is about to begin.

As soon as the Magician leaves the farm the horses are up to something and Ramses is acting strangely. He’d given Whetū a beautiful woven bracelet the day before, crafted by one of the farm cats, but now he was sullen and snappy. The next morning, Ramses is gone.

Despite a thorough search of the farm by all, there is no sign of him. Has he been stolen? Surely he is priceless with his golden fleece and horns, but rethinking this, Whetū knows the farm is protected by impenetrable magic. So where could he be?

Trying to contact the Magician for help is fruitless as he is now searching for Poppycock after his magic backfired on stage. Whetū’s day gets worse when she realises the horses are missing too. Help comes from an unlikely source. The farm cat seems to have all the answers.

Whetū is taken on a spectacular, weird and dangerous journey across parallel dimensions in search of Ramses. One world shows vain, stressed and unhappy animals caught up in an endless cycle of looking their best for cameras, another where she and her mum are the pets!

Each world is scarier than the next resulting in the most dangerous of them all and Whetū’s love for animals giving her the courage to fight back.

An enjoyable and quickly paced story, Whetū Toa and the Hunt for Ramses is perfect for animal lovers aged 7 up. Not only are there talking animals with unique personalities, there is magic, mystery, humour, and even fantasy as Whetū skips across dimensions with the help of a cat and the stars.

Subtly threaded throughout the story is guidance for Whetū and the animals themselves on bullying, sharing worries to help make them smaller, and most of all taking the time to ask if someone is okay.

Author – Steph Matuku

Illustrator – Katharine Hall

Age – 7+

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(2021, Huia Publishers, Talking animals, Golden Sheep, Ram, Farm, Magic, Crying Bull, Magician, Courage, Parallel Dimensions, Star Travel, Mystery, Humour, Series, Kindness, Don’t forget to ask, Fantasy)