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Devil Bird Island by Gill Lewis & Irina Avgustinovich – The Strawberry Post

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September 3, 2026

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A book review of a fun middle grade accessible read about a girl and her friend who travel to an island that’s filled with only birds, but what will happen when she and her friend encounter some devil birds?

About The Island Vet: Devil Bird Island

Title: The Island Vet: Devil Bird Island (The Island Vet #3) (Dyslexia-friendly)
Author: Gill Lewis
Illustrator: Irina Avgustinovich
Publisher: Barrington Stoke
Genre: Older children’s/middle grade fiction, Animals
Book format reviewed: Paperback
Sweet Strawberries:

Description: Tia and Nat love helping Nat’s dad in his work as the Haven Island’s wildlife ranger. But a trip to Devil Bird Island to count puffins brings a lot more excitement than they were expecting.
First, they have to rescue a strange creature that has drifted very far from home. Then, during the night, Tia and Nat hear strange ghostly sounds outside their tent.
Will they be able to solve the mystery of the devil birds, and what will their trip teach them about the world beyond the Haven Islands?

*Free copy provided by publisher for review…

My review and thoughts on The Island Vet: Devil Bird Island

This is a lovely story and third book in The Island Vet series. Tia is with her granny and mum at the zoo in the city but is upset by all the crowds. Granny decides to buy Tia something from the zoo’s gift shop to help Tia feel better and tells her she can have anything. Tia decides she wants a toy puffin and calls him Puff, but on the way home she loses Puff on the train and decides she never wants to visit the city again.

The Island Vet Devil Bird Island book page image one — ©The Strawberry Post

When Tia and her mum arrive back on Gull Island they meet Tia’s friend who’s excited to be heading to Devil Bird Island to help ring some puffins and see what other birds there are. Tia and her mum join them and the group is soon heading over to the island that only contains birds. I like what happens as Tia encounters some real puffins and hears about some devil birds that are supposedly on the island too. The story is good with Tia and Nat discovering something unexpected which leads the two to have an interesting adventure later in the night too.

The story builds up to a good ending with some interesting things revealed about some animals and I do like the last pages which sees something extra nice happen to Tia as well as the positive message the story leaves readers with at the end. The story is good on its own but I do like the illustrations which accompany the tale which appears on various pages throughout the book.

The Island Vet Devil Bird Island book page image two — ©The Strawberry Post

Every illustration is so good with every picture being in black, white and grey and the images showing lots of details too. I like the way Tia and the other characters look, especially all of the animals she encounters, although in the first picture of Tia her skin tone looks darker than in the rest of the book which looks a bit strange. Every chapter has a title and a lovely chapter header and the book is a special accessible read meaning it’s been made especially for dyslexics.

The pages are all thicker than regular books and a yellow sort of colour which is supposed to make reading easier for dyslexics (and anyone with eye strain and other similar reading difficulties too). The text is bigger than most books and has separated paragraphs and is a special dyslexia friendly font. The book is just under sixty pages of text making it a short read too which is great for any reluctant readers.

The Island Vet Devil Bird Island book page image three — ©The Strawberry Post

Overall this is another lovely story in The Island Vet series. It’s a tale that’ll make you smile when reading and you’ll learn something about some animals and birds through reading it too. It also has a good environmental message at the end.