Woken by a growling noise, she finds herself in a stable wearing strange old-fashioned clothes. Then she comes face to face with a real-life bear cub! The cub has been locked in ready to be put on show at the local market. Can Hannah return the bear to the wild and find a way back to her own time?
I've finally done it! I've read a Holly Webb book all the way through without crying!
Unlike her usual animal stories, this story is all from one point of view, that of young Hannah. Trapped in a very uncomfortable probably-reality, she digs in and does her best to help an animal that can't help itself.
As with a lot of Holly's books, there's some real life here; the Dresden Christmas fair is described so beautifully you'll smell the gingerbread. The descriptions of how bears were forced to dance will bring you to tears, and Hannah's frozen misery will make you want to curl up under a duvet. I'd known bears were made to dance, but I hadn't realised how they were trained; adults might want to skim over it to make sure younger children will be alright with it before reading.
I adored this story, as I do all of Holly's books. In my mind, Mathias either is himself or is the ancestor of the toy seller; I quite expected to find that out at the end! Still, he will be for me. I'm looking forward to selling this to as many people as possible.
Luna publishes on the 3rd September, 2020.
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