The Royal Rabbits Of London by Santa Montefiore, Simon Sebag Montefiore

Shylo is a small rabbit who's not very good at physical activities.  His siblings tease him.  His oldest brother is the worse.  But he has a secret friend that believes in him.  He's an old rabbit with lots of scars and lots of tales...

Aladdin and Edelweiss gave me the opportunity to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published January 23rd.

When his brother follows him into the woods, he decides to shake him off by running through the woods and hiding.  He manages that, but he finds himself in a bad place.  The log he hid in is housing rats and they are making plans to take pictures of the Queen in Buckingham Palace while she's wearing her night gown.  Those will sell and make them famous.  (Like paparazzi but more along the lines of paparatzy.)

Shylo escapes and tells the old rabbit about it.  Since he's a retired Royal Rabbit, he tells him he must go warn the Royal Rabbits at the palace about the plot.  Shylo doesn't want to but he's the only one can.  The old rabbit tells him all the secret codes, where to go and who to talk to and tells him he may not be the strongest or bravest, but he needs to use his head to accomplish his goals.

I enjoy stories about animals and this one was a very good read.  Shylo finds himself in some very bad situations but he keeps his head and manages to stay out of trouble.  The Queen's corgis even play a role in this story.

It's an exciting tale filled with danger that ends well for the good guys.  Middle graders should love this story.