Neeka and the Missing Key

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.

About the Author

Tina Strachan is a children's book author who has spent twenty years working and studying wildlife conservation including through zoo keeping, vet nursing, research and as a conservation officer. These unique experiences provide fodder for her debut middle grade series, Wilder Zoo. Tina lives on the Gold Coast in Queensland with her husband, two boys and their cavoodle.

About the Illustrator

Max Hamilton has worked as a graphic designer and illustrator for over twenty years. She studied fine art at COFA, NSW, and went on to study graphic design and illustration at Enmore TAFE. Max is now, most enthusiastically, a maker of children's books and enjoys noticing the little details in things and loves to get lost in the world of illustration and stories. Max illustrated Where the Lyrebird Lives by Vicki Conley that won the 2023 CBCA Early Childhood Book of the Year Award and Tasmanian Devil, by Claire Saxby, which was awarded the 2023 RZSNSW Whitley Awards Children's Natural History Book. Max lives with her family and their cuddly dog in Sydney, Australia.