Nicola Baker Books

Meeting Meg is a charming and heartwarming story that brings the gentle rhythms of farm life to life through the eyes of young Tilly. During a busy summer on the farm, the book follows Ava as she helps with seasonal tasks like sheep-shearing and hay-baling, until a litter of Border Collie puppies, including Meg, a lively and endearing pup, brings a new excitement. Nicola Baker captures the excitement of a new animal arriving on the farm, and the story offers rich opportunities for discussing themes such as responsibility, friendship, and animal care.

With its calm, countryside setting and engaging, accessible language, this will appeal who enjoy animal stories or are curious about rural life. Baker’s writing is quietly compelling, with a classic feel that evokes the likes of Dick King-Smith and Michael Morpurgo.

Themes of friendship, responsibility, and finding your place in the world are handled with sensitivity, making this a lovely text for exploring emotional development and non-fiction tie-ins around animals and farming. This book would work well for guided reading, book corners, or independent reading for animal-loving pupils seeking gentle adventure grounded in real-life experience and an enjoyable classroom story.

Ava is struggling with the fact her parents have left her with her Auntie Kitty, Uncle John and cousin Tom. She understands the work they do is important and she couldn’t go with them but she is apprehensive about spending the time on a farm. Ava is used to living in a town and doesn’t know anything about farming. Ava decides to try her best and help out as much as possible while she is there. As she is starting to learn about farm life she finds a lamb that she is worried about. She decides to take it to the farmhouse to keep us safe. Ava names the lamb ‘Hope’. She spends the rest of her time at the farm doing everything she can to help home, complete chores and get to know her cousin Tom. Tom doesn’t know Ava and gives her a hard time about her lack of knowledge when it comes to farming. Ava feels all alone and that Hope is her only friend. The story ends with Ava having noticed some strange things are happening on the farm. She tries to tell Tom but he doesn’t believe her and it ends with Ava stopping a serious crime but losing Hope in the process.

This animal book gives a real insight into farming life and what life would be like on a farm for children. It goes through the highs and the lows of caring for animals in detail. The illustrations in this book help to bring everything to life. A brilliant read.