Freya & Zoose

Freya is a penguin who grew up in a comfortable home with loving parents. As an adult, she has lived alone on an island for years but craves adventure. Inspired by a favorite book on travel, she finally takes the daring step of stowing away on explorer Captain Andrée’s hot air balloon expedition to the North Pole. She discovers another stowaway, a scrappy, mouthy mouse named Zoose (for Zeus). Freya has no choice but to put up with him. As the trip has one disaster after another, Freya and Zoose must work together to survive and eventually become unlikely but affectionate friends.

Freya is a proper penguin and has been living on a remote island all by herself but she would love to see the world. She takes a chance and hides herself in the bottom of a hot air balloon basket with the destination of the North Pole. This is where she meets Zoos, a mouse who has been around places but annoys Freya from the beginning of their trip. They do stick together and after a rough landing on an ice floe their next lag is experienced while stowed away in a small boat. They both have near death experiences and save one another which turns their relationship into a friendship.
Black and gray illustrations accompany this adventurous travel story on multiple pages. Although the main storyline is about the animals, it is mixed with show more historic accurate facts including the failure of Salomon Andree’s expedition. The expressive language and innocent story is a good fit for advanced readers in lower grades.
Written
3rd - 5th grade
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Not sure how it got on my list. I mean, I could have liked it, but in the first place adventure survival stories are not my thing, and in second place, it just didn't click for me. And of course I don't like animals wearing clothes or penguins in the Northern hemisphere. p. 57 March 2024