No Pets Allowed! A Bloomsbury Reader

By Chitra Soundar and Fay Austin

Book Band: Lime, ideal for ages 6+

A funny, uplifting tale about family and the healing power of pets from internationally published author, Chitra Soundar.

Keva loves helping out at Grandpa's pet adoption centre. When he has to go to hospital, she knows that his best friend, Atlas the tortoise, is just the thing to cheer him up. It's too bad that the rude hospital manager, Mr Sallow, has banned all pets from the ward!

But when Keva notices a picture on his desk, she hatches a plan that she hopes will change his mind… This story features lively black-and-white illustrations by Fay Austin.

The Bloomsbury Readers series is packed with book-banded stories to get children reading independently in Key Stage 2 by award-winning authors like double Carnegie Medal winner Geraldine McCaughrean and Waterstones Prize winner Patrice Lawrence. With engaging illustrations and online guided reading notes written by the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE), this series is ideal for home and school. For more information visit www.bloomsburyreaders.com.

'Any list that brings together such a quality line up of authors is going to be welcomed … Bloomsbury Readers are aimed squarely at children in Key Stage 2 and designed to support them as they start reading independently and while they continue to gain confidence and understanding.' Books for Keeps

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
• Release date: Jan 5, 2023
• ISBN: 9781801991711

Chitra Soundar

Chitra Soundar is originally from India, where as a child she feasted on folktales and stories from Hindu mythology. She is the author of the picture book Pattan’s Pumpkin: A Traditional Flood Story from Southern India, illustrated by Frané Lessac. She currently lives in London.

Book preview

Chapter One

Keva Kailash loved helping out at Grandpa’s pet adoption centre – Wild Friends. Grandpa rescued abandoned pets and looked after them until he placed them in loving homes. Before Grandpa opened Wild Friends, he used to be a travelling vet, looking after pets on cruises or animals that had to travel far to return to the wild.

Keva lived with Mum and Grandpa in the flat above Wild Friends. She helped out with chores like cleaning cages and tanks, writing name tags in English and Latin and making fact sheets for each of the animals.

Keva loved all the animals that were brought to the centre – the big ones, the small ones, the long ones and the short ones. She loved pretty birds and ugly frogs. She loved creatures that crawled and those that swam. She loved critters, crocs, beetles, bunnies, elephants, giraffes… and the list went on.

But the animal she