This post is sponsored by Diana Schaffter. The review and opinions expressed in this post are based on my personal views.
MY REVIEW
“Armando and the Amazing Animal Race” is like The Amazing Race meets Jumanji—with endangered animals, a ticking clock, and a shy kid who has no idea he’s about to save the world.
Twelve-year-old Armando isn’t exactly adventure material. He’d rather stay home and fly under the radar. But when his wild and wonderful Granny D enters them into a global animal race—seven countries, seven endangered animals, seventy days—he’s got no choice but to pack a camera and hang on tight.
From glaciers to jungles, deserts to oceans, this race takes readers around the world in the most thrilling way. And it’s not just about the animals (although the animals are awesome)—there’s mystery, danger, and family secrets that Armando never saw coming. Each chapter brings a new twist, a new challenge, and a chance for Armando to grow braver, bolder, and a little wilder.
Diana Schaffter keeps the pace fast and the stakes high, while sneaking in tons of fascinating animal facts and conservation themes without ever slowing the fun. You’ll laugh, you’ll learn, and you might even want to save a pangolin by the end.
Perfect for fans of Explorer Academy, Spy School, or anything with heart-pounding action and heartwarming moments. I’d recommend this for middle-grade readers who love animals, adventure, and stories with real-world impact.
One word of advice? Don’t start it at bedtime—because once the race begins, you won’t want to stop.
GIVEAWAY
Enter for a chance to win a copy of Armando and the Amazing Animal Race signed by Diana Schaffter! One lucky grand prize winner will also receive an exclusive adventure-themed bundle that includes a themed T-shirt, a set of vibrant stickers featuring all seven endangered animals from the story, three beautifully illustrated maps, and, to top it all off, a $50 Amazon gift certificate.
Click here for the entry form: https://www.thechildrensbookreview.com/armando-and-the-amazing-animal-race-awareness-tour/
ABOUT THE BOOK
Armando and the Amazing Animal Race
Written by Diana Schaffter
Ages: 8-12 | 350 Pages
Publisher: Sea Otter Press (2025) | ISBN: 978-1-0690795-1-0
Publisher’s Book Summary: Two unlikely teammates on a grueling continent-hopping race. Their mission: to photograph 7 endangered animals in just 70 days… and solve a baffling family mystery.
When twelve-year-old Armando stumbles on his mother’s old race journal and convinces his wacky grandmother to join the Amazing Animal Race—the same race his mother disappeared on eight years earlier—his summer explodes into a wild global adventure. Armed with night vision goggles, bear spray, and support from his tech-savvy friend Jinny, Armando faces a charging polar bear, poachers’ bullets, and ruthless rivals as he races across the icy Arctic to the steamy Amazon rainforest. What starts as a race to help endangered animals and the environment spirals into a treacherous quest to unravel a mystery that will change Armando’s family—and his life—forever.
Packed with thrilling action, laugh-out-loud moments, and unforgettable characters, Armando and the Amazing Animal Race takes readers on a whirlwind journey of self-discovery across the globe. This heart-warming tale of family, mystery, and wildlife conservation will inspire adventurers, both young and old, to see the world and themselves in a whole new light.
“. . . a whirlwind of an environmentally minded tale. . .”
—KIRKUS REVIEWS – “OUR VERDICT: √ GET IT!”
“. . .fantastically engaging . . . super fun as well as poignant. . .”
—JENNIFER REES, editor, Explorer Academy, National Geographic
“. . . will resonate with anyone who yearns for adventure…”
—MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW
PURCHASE LINK
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Diana Schaffter is no stranger to adventure. She is fluent in Thai, has traveled to over fifty countries, raised her two sons overseas, and lived in seven countries in Asia and Eastern Europe for forty-two years, including two years in Pyongyang, North Korea, where her husband was the head of the UNICEF office. Diana has worked with Cambodian refugees, taught in international schools, opened schools in Thailand and Vietnam, and has been an educational consultant to non-governmental organizations and the Ministry of Education in Laos.
In researching her story, she followed in the footsteps of her main character, Armando, traveling to Southern India to search for wild cobras with the Irula tribe, to Vladivostok, Russia, to see a Siberian tiger with a local conservationist, to the home of the elusive desert leopard in the Judean desert in Israel; and into the thick Brazilian Amazon rainforest to visit an Indigenous tribe and to photograph a pied tamarin monkey. Wherever she has lived, Diana has witnessed the power of human resilience, cooperation, and caring, which inspires her writing. Diana and her co-adventurer husband, Tim, now live in Sidney, BC, Canada, where she continues to write, give talks in schools and communities, and work with young people.
For more information, visit: dianaschaffter.com.
https://www.instagram.com/dianaschaffter
https://www.facebook.com/dianaschaffterwriter
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/54505014.Diana_Schaffter
TOUR SCHEDULE
| Tuesday, May 13, 2025The Children’s Book ReviewBook Review of Armando and the Amazing Animal Race |
| Wednesday, May 14, 2025The Starlit PathBook Review of Armando and the Amazing Animal Race |
| Thursday, May 15, 2025The Fairview ReviewBook Review of Armando and the Amazing Animal Race |
| Friday, May 16, 2025icefairy’s Treasure ChestBook Review of Armando and the Amazing Animal Race |
| Monday, May 19, 2025Crafty Moms ShareBook Review of Armando and the Amazing Animal Race |
| Tuesday, May 20, 2025Mrs Makes Reading FunBook Review of Armando and the Amazing Animal Race |
| Wednesday, May 21, 2025Q&As with Deborah KalbAuthor Interview with Diana Schaffter |
| Thursday, May 22, 2025@the_conservationists_booksBook Review of Armando and the Amazing Animal Race |
| Friday, May 23, 2025Un viaje en libroAuthor Interview with Diana Schaffter |
| Monday, May 26, 2025Froggy Read TeachBook Review of Armando and the Amazing Animal Race |
| Tuesday, May 27, 2025@Bookish_MeaghanBook Review of Armando and the Amazing Animal Race |
| Wednesday, May 28, 2025@wooldridgewanderersBook Review of Armando and the Amazing Animal Race |
| Thursday, May 29, 2025My Reading GetawayBook Review of Armando and the Amazing Animal Race |
| Monday, June 2, 2025ALWAYS in the MIDDLEBook Review of Armando and the Amazing Animal Race |
| Saturday, June 7, 2025@nature.books.and.coffeeBook Review of Armando and the Amazing Animal Race |
| Wednesday, June 11, 2025@nissa_the.bookwormBook Review of Armando and the Amazing Animal Race |
