The Animal Rescue Agency, helmed by fox Esquire and rooster Mr. Pepper, saves a stranded polar bear cub. Mother polar bear Big Claws and her baby, Little Claws, emerge from hibernation only to have Little Claws fall into a trap that leaves him stranded on an ice floe. Big Claws' message for help sets Esquire and Mr. Pepper into action. They hop on a train to Anchorage, then dog-sled to Utqiagvik, Alaska, as the story plunges them into intrigue and action, working against an openly evil wild-animal trafficker. Although the action maintains a steady pace--with captures and escapes aplenty--certain plot elements fall apart under scrutiny. Instead, the focus is on the duo's dynamic, crotchety and full of good-natured insults. Esquire's dashing and flashy--down to her fashion statements--while business-minded Mr. Pepper tends toward the practical. Utqiagvik's description isn't exactly flattering, even given the vulpine perspective, and readers looking for Alaskan Native representation there will be disappointed. The villain is the only human character, described as "gray" but presenting White and looking like a fur hat--wearing Capt. Hook in the cartoon art. Backmatter includes information on how climate change threatens polar bears, along with Mr. Pepper's recipe for mushroom jerky (a favorite of Esquire's, who's sworn off eating animals). Esquire, unlike the other animals, is highly anthropomorphized in the art, mostly going about on two feet. Only she and Mr. Pepper wear clothing. A well-meaning but only partially successful series opener. (Animal fantasy. 8-12.) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

In this amusing series opener, nattily dressed Esquire, a fearless fox, and fastidious Mr. Pepper, a remarkable rooster, run the renowned Animal Rescue Agency from their cozy Colorado headquarters. Operatives all over the world inform them of unfortunate critters in need of assistance, and the latest call is particularly urgent: a baby polar bear, separated from his mother on an ice floe, is heading straight into the clutches of a dangerous animal trafficker. The agents suit up--Esquire in a tweed coat, and Mr. Pepper in an altered teapot cozy--and head for the Arctic. The book really shines in its descriptive details, from the hilariously disjointed way that the "animal internet" operates (basically a lengthy game of telephone) to the coziness of a rat-run pub under an auto shop. It's not all silliness, however, as there are plenty of ecological lessons, from the effects of global warming to human carelessness, and some additional "field notes" in the back provide greater detail.

In this ecologically minded series opener, Schrefer (The Popper Penguin Rescue) introduces the interspecies odd couple that heads up the Animal Rescue Agency--patrician Esquire, a tweed-wearing, tea-drinking, jazz-listening fox, and fastidious colleague Mr. Pepper, a cantankerous elderly rooster. Working from tips supplied by field operatives, the duo sets out to save Little Claws, a young polar bear set adrift on an ice floe by a villainous fur-wearing animal trafficker who plans to sell the cub to a Florida zoo. Living up to their motto--"To each animal, the right to live its natural life"--the agents thwart the trafficker's efforts, liberating a warehouse full of Arctic animals as part of the high-stakes plot. Though Schrefer plays Mr. Pepper's domestic contributions for laughs, moments of absurdity ("That's not the sound of failure--it's the sound of a walrus!"), amplified by cartoon-inflected illustrations by Duncan (South), make for a lighthearted read with environmental conservation at its core. Back matter includes a recipe, an afterword with facts about climate change, and a list of further reading. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 8--12. Author's agent: Richard Pine, Inkwell Management. (Jan.)

Gr 2--5--When Esquire Fox and her partner Mr. Pepper, a gentlemanly rooster, get the message that an animal of some kind is trapped on an ice floe, they rush to the rescue. As the founders of the Animal Rescue Agency, they have sworn to help any animal who is in trouble. On arrival in Utqiagvik, Alaska, they learn that the animal they need to save is a baby polar bear named Little Claws. It has been stranded on an ice floe by a mysterious man in a white fur hat, who soon captures them as well. It will require the help of some unlikely animal allies and a daring adventure in the Arctic Sea to rescue the stranded polar bear while escaping the villainous poacher. With its odd-couple protagonists (the daring, but slightly vain Esquire Fox and stodgy, sensible Mr. Pepper), and entertaining portrayal of the animal world, this new series by the Endangered author is full of lighthearted adventure. Cartoon-style illustrations by Duncan add to the story's charm. The field notes at the end explain the real-life perils faced by polar bears in the face of climate change, and include resources explaining the causes of polar ice loss and how kids can help. This also includes a recipe for mushroom jerky. VERDICT This lively new series will appeal to fans of Elisabetta Dami's "Geronimo Stilton" and other anthropomorphic animal adventure stories.--Ashley Larsen, Pacifica Libraries, CA