The Secret Zoo in the School Cupboard

By Tracey Lee Payne

One ordinary school cupboard. One impossible zoo. One lunch break that changes everything.

Molly Harper has always noticed strange things.

A painting that changes direction. A crack in the wall shaped like a running fox. A teacher who holds his coffee cup with both hands whenever he is worried.

Then, during lunch at Oakbridge Primary School, Molly is sent to fetch paper towels from the old supply cupboard at the end of the back corridor.

That is when the cupboard growls.

Behind the mop bucket, the spare markers, and the forgotten cardigan, Molly discovers an iron gate covered in glowing vines. Beyond it waits the Everwild School Zoo, a secret magical place founded in 1962 and hidden from the world for more than sixty years.

There is only one problem.

The animals are getting out.

Soon Molly and her friends, Ben Patel and Isla Grant, are chasing a chalk goat that eats maths, a moon monkey that makes the dinner hall float, a whisper fox that repeats secrets, a tiny thunder kitten with her own storm cloud, a spark dragon, a shadow ferret, a mirror mouse, and something enormous breathing in the dark.

The adults cannot explain what is happening. The children can.

At the heart of the mystery is Edith Bell, the first keeper of the Everwild, who vanished from the school records in 1962 after sealing the zoo to protect it. Now the animals are restless, the magic is weakening, and the zoo is waiting for a new keeper.

Molly opened the door by accident.

Now she may be the only one who can keep the Everwild alive.

The Secret Zoo in the School Cupboard is a funny, magical, heartfelt middle grade fantasy adventure about friendship, courage, hidden worlds, impossible animals, and the kind of door every child secretly hopes to find.

Perfect for readers who love:

Magical animals and secret worlds
Funny school adventures
Mystery, friendship, and gentle danger
Whimsical fantasy with heart

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0H3892GVN
• ISBN13: 9798233188909
• Release Date: May 2026
• Publisher: Wonderfield Books
• Length: 114 Pages
• Weight: 0.36 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"
• Age Range: 9 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 4 to 7