Meeting Meg: Volume 3

By Author / Illustrator

Nicola Baker

Genre

Animals

Age range(s)

Publisher

Simon & Schuster Children's Books

ISBN

9781398527225

Format

Hardback

Published

08-05-2025

Synopsis

The third book in a warm and beautifully observed farm adventure series from Nicola Baker, star of Our Farm in the Dales. Perfect for readers 8+ and fans of Jacqueline Wilson, Michael Morpurgo, Dick King Smith and The Snow Foal. With stunning illustrations from Rachael Dean throughout.

It's summer at Whistledown Farm and there's plenty for Ava to do - from helping to shear the sheep to baling the hay. But then she meets a litter of border collie pups and suddenly the sunny days get a lot more complicated . . .

'Baker is a gifted writer, and her bucolic adventure harks back to classic farm stories such as those written by Dick King Smith and Michael Morpurgo' The Bookseller

About the author: Growing up, Nicola spent hours with her nose stuck in a book or filling notebooks with stories and sketches. After a successful career as a physiotherapist and raising two children she's now come full circle and is writing again. Nicola lives on a smallholding with her husband and two children. When she's not mucking out chickens or feeding the sheep you'll find her writing adventure stories for children.

Reviews

Natalie J

Meeting Meg is the third title in the series of Whistledown Farm Adventures and begins seven months after the ending of the second book. Ava and her parents are now living in the cottage at the edge of the farm and Ava and her friends, The Whistlers, are enjoying their last summer before starting high school. The Whistlers are spending most of their time, when not working on the farm, in their den, birdwatching and observing the world around them on their new nature camera. But when strange things start to happen, the camera is put to a new use - to see if there really is a Beast of Amblewick or a more down-to-earth explanation for recent events.

Each member of the group comes into their own, as their individual characters are fleshed out more, which in turn builds on Ava’s character development. For example, for the first time in the series Ava shows some deceitful and rash behaviour when she feels she is about to lose Meg, her favourite of the litter of puppies she is helping to take care of. However, Baker has done such a good job of depicting Ava and creating her sincere, endearing voice that the reader understands her actions and can't help but be on her side, willing her to reach a happy ending.

With each title, Baker delves further into the Whistledown world, mixing exciting adventures in traditional (maybe even old-fashioned) childhoods with depictions of real farming and the natural world.