Case File: Little Claws (Animal Rescue Agency #1)

In this ecologically minded series opener, Schrefer (The Popper Penguin Rescue) introduces the interspecies odd couple that heads up the Animal Rescue Agency--patrician Esquire, a tweed-wearing, tea-drinking, jazz-listening fox, and fastidious colleague Mr. Pepper, a cantankerous elderly rooster. Working from tips supplied by field operatives, the duo sets out to save Little Claws, a young polar bear set adrift on an ice floe by a villainous fur-wearing animal trafficker who plans to sell the cub to a Florida zoo. Living up to their motto--"To each animal, the right to live its natural life"--the agents thwart the trafficker's efforts, liberating a warehouse full of Arctic animals as part of the high-stakes plot. Though Schrefer plays Mr. Pepper's domestic contributions for laughs, moments of absurdity ("That's not the sound of failure--it's the sound of a walrus!"), amplified by cartoon-inflected illustrations by Duncan (South), make for a lighthearted read with environmental conservation at its core. Back matter includes a recipe, an afterword with facts about climate change, and a list of further reading. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 8-12. Author's agent: Richard Pine, Inkwell Management. (Jan.)

Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Gr 2-5--When Esquire Fox and her partner Mr. Pepper, a gentlemanly rooster, get the message that an animal of some kind is trapped on an ice floe, they rush to the rescue. As the founders of the Animal Rescue Agency, they have sworn to help any animal who is in trouble. On arrival in Utqiagvik, Alaska, they learn that the animal they need to save is a baby polar bear named Little Claws. It has been stranded on an ice floe by a mysterious man in a white fur hat, who soon captures them as well. It will require the help of some unlikely animal allies and a daring adventure in the Arctic Sea to rescue the stranded polar bear while escaping the villainous poacher. With its odd-couple protagonists (the daring, but slightly vain Esquire Fox and stodgy, sensible Mr. Pepper), and entertaining portrayal of the animal world, this new series by the Endangered author is full of lighthearted adventure. Cartoon-style illustrations by Duncan add to the story's charm. The field notes at the end explain the real-life perils faced by polar bears in the face of climate change, and include resources explaining the causes of polar ice loss and how kids can help. This also includes a recipe for mushroom jerky. VERDICT This lively new series will appeal to fans of Elisabetta Dami's "Geronimo Stilton" and other anthropomorphic animal adventure stories.--Ashley Larsen, Pacifica Libraries, CA

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

PRAISE FOR MEZ'S MAGIC: "Unlike anything I've read. Eliot Schrefer has mined the richness and depths of his setting to find a deeper magic, immersing us in a world that is at once complex, dangerous, beautiful, and ultimately demanding of our protection. A thrilling start to an exceptional new series."—Soman Chainani, New York Times bestselling author of The School for Good and Evil series