When newly orphaned Puloma runs away from her uncaring aunt she finds herself a job in a travelling circus. It’s there she meets another lone creature who needs to escape as much as Puloma did.
Nyla is a sloth bear, kept in a cage all day and forced to perform for crowds in the circus at night. The circus offers Puloma a home, a new family even, but she can’t stand to see Nyla suffering; what will she do?
Jasbinder Bilan puts readers in Puloma’s shoes: their hearts will go out to Nyla, they will be concerned for Puloma and her future, and they will get a real sense of her life and her home. At just 88pp, it’s a quick, accessible but moving and memorable read.
Puloma must summon immense courage to rescue a captive bear in this gripping adventure from award-winning author Jasbinder Bilan, set in the Indian countryside, brought to life by beautiful illustrations from Skylar White.
Can Puloma save Nyla the bear and herself at the same time?
Unwanted and lonely living with her unkind aunt, Puloma ends up running away with the circus. She's relieved to find work and a place to live but can't understand why the other circus workers are constantly worried about the police finding them.
The reason for their fears is the circus's star act - a dancing sloth bear called Nyla. This form of cruelty is now illegal in India, and when Puloma sees Nyla being mistreated, she decides to try to help her escape …
Particularly suitable for readers aged 9+ with a reading age of 8.
Jasbinder Bilan was born in India, close to the Himalayas, before moving to Nottingham as a child. She graduated from Bath Spa University and has gone on to write several books for children, winning a plethora of awards for her work. Her debut novel Asha and the Spirit Bird was awarded the Times/Chicken House Prize and the Costa Children’s Book Award, as well as being shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, longlisted for the Jhalak Prize and nominated for the Carnegie Medal. Jasbinder is also an active member of Authors4Oceans, an organisation campaigning to clean our oceans of plastic.
