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Neeka and the Missing Key (Wilder Zoo, #1): The brand new illustrated fiction series about living at a zoo!
When you live in a zoo - things can get wild!
Eleven-year-old Neeka Wilder has always loved animals.
She wants to be a vet one day, like her mum, who is the head vet at Wilder Zoo - where Neeka and her family live!
Neeka is a great help to the zoo staff in caring for the animals. And she also takes videos of exciting events at the zoo.
When the videos are nominated for a big award, Neeka wants to make one more video to help win it. But when Rebel, the cheeky red panda, won't co-operate, her zoo key goes missing and she's grounded for a month, it's a race against the clock to create the new video in time for the awards.
Praise for Neeka and the Missing Key
'full of surprises' - Gabrielle Tozer
'an adorable romp' - Victoria Carless
'the kind of story kids love to read' - Jen Storer
'an ultimate zoo adventure' - Samera Kamaleddine
'a magical tale' - Yvette Poshoglian
Eleven-year-old Neeka Wilder has always loved animals.
She wants to be a vet one day, like her mum, who is the head vet at Wilder Zoo - where Neeka and her family live!
Neeka is a great help to the zoo staff in caring for the animals. And she also takes videos of exciting events at the zoo.
When the videos are nominated for a big award, Neeka wants to make one more video to help win it. But when Rebel, the cheeky red panda, won't co-operate, her zoo key goes missing and she's grounded for a month, it's a race against the clock to create the new video in time for the awards.
Praise for Neeka and the Missing Key
'full of surprises' - Gabrielle Tozer
'an adorable romp' - Victoria Carless
'the kind of story kids love to read' - Jen Storer
'an ultimate zoo adventure' - Samera Kamaleddine
'a magical tale' - Yvette Poshoglian
207 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 1, 2025
10 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 17, 2025
Neeka Wilder might be the luckiest child in Australia - she lives at the Wilder Zoo with her family and gets the opportunity to help the zoo staff to care for the various animals.
My children really enjoyed the adventures of Neeka, and the mystery of the finding the lost key. We loved the illustrations that really added to the story.
We are excited to read more adventures of Neeka and her adventures at the Wilder Zoo!
This is a fantastic debut novel, and I am excited to share more middle grade stories from Australian author Tina Strachan.
My children really enjoyed the adventures of Neeka, and the mystery of the finding the lost key. We loved the illustrations that really added to the story.
We are excited to read more adventures of Neeka and her adventures at the Wilder Zoo!
This is a fantastic debut novel, and I am excited to share more middle grade stories from Australian author Tina Strachan.
March 18, 2025
WILDER ZOO, #1: NEEKA AND THE MISSING KEY by Tina Strachan, illustrated by Max Hamilton
Neeka Wilder has always loved animals. She lives at the Wilder Zoo where her mum is the Head Vet. Every morning before school, and every other chance she gets, Neeka is helping the staff to care for the animals and posting videos online of any exciting events at the zoo. When her videos are nominated for a big award, Neeka wants to make one more video to ensure she, and not her online vlogger competitor Ranger Riley, wins first prize! But when Rebel, the cheeky red panda, won't cooperate for the videos, her zoo key goes missing and she's grounded for a month, it's a race against the clock to create the new video in time for the awards. But with her besties Hudson and Rumi, and the animals of Wilder Zoo on her side, Neeka will not give up!
Debut author Tina Strachan delivers a special, magical story of animals, friendship, mystery, school problems and family, all themes young readers will resonate with. The idea of a child living at a zoo is fantastic and Strachan skilfully makes the concept her own in this marvellous story that kids will absolutely devour. The language, the turn of phrase, the subtle hints that develop and layer Neeka's [personality, and that of the other characters in the book, are all remarkably well-written; one can not help but wonder ... Where has Tina Strachan been? Her prose is strong and confident, her writing voice authentic and captivating, and Neeka as a character is a stand-out protagonist that has all readers rooting for her. Strachan is definitely a writer to watch.
A refreshing story about a dream life for any animal-loving kid who yearns to live at a zoo, Neeka and the Missing Key is beautifully complemented by Max Hamilton's colourful inviting front cover and superb black & white interior illustrations. Hamilton's artwork empathetically expresses the feelings and emotion of protagonist Neeka in a tender and considered way. Not to mention, the illustrations do a wonderful job of building a visual of the strong, appealing world of nature and animals as depicted in the text. Readers cannot help but stop in awe and admire the painstaking detail in the interior pages' drawings showcasing an abundance of creatures from red pandas to giraffes to elephants; Hamilton's heart appears to be in every crevice and line of each illustration. Readers can feel the passion for animals coming through from the extraordinarily whimsical artwork. These interior illustrations add warm sparks of charm, humour and softness to the story's text, making the book a beautiful package as a whole.
With a perfectly matched author and illustrator, the result is a joyful story with a great deal of charm, excitement and adventure. Young readers will go wild for Wilder Zoo - and anticipation for the next book in the series is high. Thoroughly recommended for ages 7-11, Neeka and the Missing Key is a mighty contribution to Australian children's literature from two true talents.
August 8, 2025
Neeka is an inquisitive eleven-year-old who lives at Wilder Zoo. Her mum is a Vet at the Zoo, and her father is a teacher.
Each morning, Neeka gets to help the Zookeepers feed the animals in the Zoo. She loves learning about the animals. She enjoys the company of the staff and her best friends, Rumi and Hudson.
They have Rebel, a very cute Red Panda, who is impossible to train. Rebel loves grapes and dancing. They do capture some footage on the phone, but the quality is poor and blurry.
The Zoo Association Awards were only weeks away, and Neeka wants to create a winning video. They were going to have a new baby elephant, but it wouldn't be born for many months. The examination of the Tiger with a sore tooth, her mother explained, would also be difficult to film. It was too dangerous to have her distracting the specialist vets and the zoo vets.
They do get a video of Rebel dancing, but Neeka feels guilty about losing the keys when they did. She was more upset when her dad was held up for an interview because they were late getting back home.
Neeka is worried about having lost her keys to the Zoo. Her parents gave her the keys as a way of giving her responsibility. She knows she'll be in big trouble with her mum and dad. She asks her friends to help search.
When she's been banned from going to the Zoo for two months, Neeka doesn't think she'll be able to cope. She tells her mum about the missing keys.
Her mum has a surprise for her the next day. She's allowed to go to the elephant enclosure. When she arrives, her mum explains she can help search for the keys. If Elton has swallowed her keys, then she can hunt for them in the elephant poo.
Declan, the elephant zookeeper, takes a video. He gives it to Pixie, who is in charge of social media.
At least Neeka can come to the zoo each day after school, she ropes her friends in to help the poo search. They become a hit on social media.
I loved how animal facts were distributed throughout the story. A Zoo is a place kids would love to live in. I'll be reading more of this series.
Each morning, Neeka gets to help the Zookeepers feed the animals in the Zoo. She loves learning about the animals. She enjoys the company of the staff and her best friends, Rumi and Hudson.
They have Rebel, a very cute Red Panda, who is impossible to train. Rebel loves grapes and dancing. They do capture some footage on the phone, but the quality is poor and blurry.
The Zoo Association Awards were only weeks away, and Neeka wants to create a winning video. They were going to have a new baby elephant, but it wouldn't be born for many months. The examination of the Tiger with a sore tooth, her mother explained, would also be difficult to film. It was too dangerous to have her distracting the specialist vets and the zoo vets.
They do get a video of Rebel dancing, but Neeka feels guilty about losing the keys when they did. She was more upset when her dad was held up for an interview because they were late getting back home.
Neeka is worried about having lost her keys to the Zoo. Her parents gave her the keys as a way of giving her responsibility. She knows she'll be in big trouble with her mum and dad. She asks her friends to help search.
When she's been banned from going to the Zoo for two months, Neeka doesn't think she'll be able to cope. She tells her mum about the missing keys.
Her mum has a surprise for her the next day. She's allowed to go to the elephant enclosure. When she arrives, her mum explains she can help search for the keys. If Elton has swallowed her keys, then she can hunt for them in the elephant poo.
Declan, the elephant zookeeper, takes a video. He gives it to Pixie, who is in charge of social media.
At least Neeka can come to the zoo each day after school, she ropes her friends in to help the poo search. They become a hit on social media.
I loved how animal facts were distributed throughout the story. A Zoo is a place kids would love to live in. I'll be reading more of this series.
February 12, 2025
Cute book. Really liked the ending. :)
June 6, 2025
This will be irresistible to animal loving kids—especially those who love leaning all the secret, behind the scene facts.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews