This was a charming book about life at Chester Zoo from the very beginning, through World War II and slightly after. June Mottershead, daughter of the founder of the zoo, takes us on a short journey of her past - which there seemed to never have been a dull moment.
After having seen the BBC series I wanted to read the book. I can honestly say I'm glad I did.
This book was a light and easy read full of humour and sad moments in abundance. Although there was quite a few sad moments the mood was quickly changed by one of June's short anecdotes. The best one for me was when one of the bears went missing and it was found to have strolled into the house.
I found the book to have been a pleasurable and enjoyable read. It had almost a conversational tone to it, as opposed to talk at you or down to you. As it was a light read it was easy to get wrapped up into the story and just keep turning the pages.
The pictures throughout the book added that little extra touch to it. You got to see the people and the animals that June was talking about and it made you feel a bit closer to the story.
