Showing posts with label Inclusive. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Inclusive. Show all posts

Sunday, 9 June 2024

The DOG SQUAD. THE SHOW

Written and fully illustrated by Clara Vulliamy.  

      

 
                                                                                

An Adventure Book Review by Erin the Literary Cat©, International Book Reviewer.


Hello, and welcome to my weekend Read and Review, featuring a PAWTASTIC adventure in Middle-Grade fiction.

 

This week, we have Book 3 in the Dog Squad series by a hugely talented artist and writer. So please bring your paws together, wag tails, and give deep rumbling purrs for Clara Vulliamy! 


To read a review of Book 1, CLICK HERE.


To read a review of Book 2, CLICK HERE


Without further ado, assuming everyone has been fed and had their walkies, let's start our review of THE SHOW.






AUTHOR & ARTIST throughout:  Clara Vulliamy

 

Published by:  Harper Collins Children's Books

 

Publication date Paperback:  OUT NOW

 

Paperback ISBN:  978 - 000 -856 5473


UK Cover price for Paperback:  £6.99

 

Pages: 104

 

Age range:  7 - 11


Any dogs or cats? More dogs than you can throw a stick for, and, if you look carefully, you'll see a rather smart cat in there!

 

 

SPOILER ALERT


Yes. Some as to plot direction and characters through images and text. 

 

 

Thank you to...

 

A MASSIVE thank you to Clara, who personally sent over the digital artwork pictures specifically so you all could enjoy them at their best and see how wonderful the book is. 


As ever, our views are our own, and we only share reviews of books we have bought, been given as gifts or received in exchange for an impartial review.


First and foremost, the books we review are those we select to read, like, and feel our global readers deserve to know about and that we hope they, their family, friends and students will enjoy.

 

The plot


Eva, along with Wafer, her whippet, and her two friends Ash and Simone, head off to deliver parcels of supplies to local residents who can't get out due to a storm and floods the previous day. It soon transpires that the storm ripped a hole in the roof of the local Happy Tails animal rescue centre. Even worse, as the shelter doesn't have the funds to repair the roof, they will have to close, and the animals will be homeless.


© Unhappy tails at the Sanctuary



Enter our team of young reporters and crime solvers, The Dog Squad. What if the trio could raise funds for the shelter? It's a great idea, one that their teacher thinks will work. Accordingly, he booked the school playground for the event a week hence. The fundraising event will be a Dog Show, and all that entails.


But if the team, Eva Ash and Simone, think they have this sorted, they have a rude awakening. After an initial keenness from their classmates to join in, there is nothing to show on the third day of planning save for two totalisers, some ruffled egos and empty chairs at the latest meeting. 


Simone, Ash and Eva trying to plan. ©



What have the team done wrong? More to the point, what can they do right to save the event and the shelter. With their teacher upset at losing his wedding ring, it seems nothing can go right.


To find out what the kids have done wrong and what they have to do to turn things around, you will have to buy an entry ticket to the Dog Show. I assure you, there is everything to play for, sticks included, and lessons and surprises cavort, yap, bark and howl all around. 




So, what did we think?


We have never had so much fun looking at all the wonderful images that pack this lovely story. Mrs H smiled from ear to ear at some of the antics. If we gave star ratings, this would be a galaxy. Without a doubt, this is a superb third adventure. Clara's artwork leaps off the pages and into one's heart.


Wafer helping out with some artwork! ©



The characters are so expressive. Big or small, as you see in this review, the images bring an extra and exciting dimension. The drama of the storm and its effect on people, property, and pets is palpable and immediately strikes a chord. Wafer is, of course, a central character, and he does lend a paw—to disastrous effect—but this particular story brings a bigger vista and adventure. 


We loved every page of this perfect-length, expressive and delightful tale. I think all the younger readers will love it too. 


© Fun and games for all at the Dog Show.

 

So . . . . Crunch time. 


A must-have new read for parents and schools wishing to educate, enthuse and bring value to reading. It engenders responsibility and caring and promotes pausing to consider others when making decisions. This adventure focuses quite ably on team building and inclusivity of all sorts to deliver results. And it is done in the best way: naturally, without hammering home, and as a default setting. Many adults could learn a thing or two I can tell you.


© Everyone can help out


In a society seemingly bereft of social niceties and driven by money and must-have attitudes, this adventure is a ray of hope, one most parents will appreciate seeing. 


Want to buy a copy?


To get a copy, please, do consider your local independent bookshop. There are plenty out there just waiting to serve up whatever kind of mystery, fun and adventure you desire.

 

Clara Vulliamy's web page can be found HERE or type this: https://claras.me/




Harper Collins Children's Books web page can be found HERE or type this: https://harpercollinschildrensbooks.co.uk/explore/


 

We are joining the Sunday Selfies, hosted by the wonderful Kitties Blue and their mum, Janet Blue, from the Cat on My Head blog in America. Click this link to see Janet Blue's selfie page.

Small image. The Cat on My Head Sunday Selfies Blog Hop badge. Features a yellow-haired lady with a tuxedo cat on her head.

 

I shall leave you with an early June Selfie. And as I am a barometer for the weather, you can tell it isn't that nice out. Bed on a dreary day is the best place to be. . . 


  

Till laters!

ERin 


Sunday, 13 November 2022

MAJOR and MYNAH – Operation Raven

 

 by KAREN OWEN;  

 Illustrated by Louise Forshaw                                                                                  

An Adventure Book Review by Erin the Literary Cat©, International Book Reviewer.

Hello, and welcome to my weekend Book Review featuring Adventures in Middle-Grade Fiction.
 

But first, lets see what's happening in Upper Much-Mousing.
 
Life at the Manor House has settled into the traditional pre-Christmas panic, and Mrs H and Erin have been hard at work signing cards. . . .
 
"Mrs H, what flavour ink am I using this year?" Erin asked as she licked her paw. She had been stamping the Xmas cards with her right paw using a special flavoured non-toxic ink..

"Blueberry and muffin I think the bottle said." Mrs H was busily unknotting the tangle Erin had created in the tinsel after a mad half-hour session earlier that morning while chasing a mouse-shaped bauble.

Erin nodded in approval. "Does that mean we have the mince pie and brandy butter glue to lick this year?" she said, eyeing up the envelopes.

"No, dear. I got my favourite, the alcohol free sherry flavour. It wouldn't do to be drunk whilst headed to the postbox, now would it."

"Yuck!" Erin's nose scrunched up in disgust. "I don't know how you could, Mrs H. It smells like fermented old socks mixed with old fruit!"

"I'm not sure that it's quite that bad, dear. And in anycase, how would you know what old socks tasted like?"

"Have you been into ol' Ned's greenhouse this week?" Erin asked, gesturing out the window. "There's a reason it's all steamed up. And it's not because he's working hard," Erin said with a wink. I swear that new homebrew is actually some sort of bug killer."

"Insecti-cider!" they both proclaimed simultaneously and broke into hysterics.

"How's about I let you lick the postage stamps instead. Mrs H pulled out the small wallet of special stamps purchased from Mrs Singh's Festive Grotto. Each stamp had a Christmas flavour. Having split the stamps into two even piles she placed one set before Erin. "There you go, dear. We each get a fair mix.

"OK. As long as I haven't got the 1st Class vindaloo surprise!" The previous year, Erin picked that stamp and had needed to keep her tongue in chilled cream till the pain subsided. At least, that is what she had said.

"I did make sure I got that myself. Can't have you overdoing the cream, now can we. I have also made sure you got all the traditional food. Roast parsnips and cranberry sauce are back. And, if you see one with King Charles 3rd on it, and his nose is wrinkled, that will be the Brussels sprout-flavoured one." Mrs H winked, and after a short pause, the two descended into fits of giggles!

"I think, dear," Mrs H said after wiping away a tear, we best not make any jokes about our new king. If word ever got out, we could end up in the Tower of London!"
 
"Strange you should say that, Mrs H, but the review for this week is set in the Tower of London. How's about you put the kettle on and warm up those mince pies with cream, and I'll introduce this week's awesome read?"

"That, Erin is an excellent idea." As Mrs H strode off to the kitchens, Erin gently pushed the sprout flavour stamp from her pile into Mrs H's and exchanged it for a rather tasty-looking roast turkey.

 

 

 






AUTHOR: KAREN OWEN

 

Cover art by: LOUISE FORSHAW 

 

Published by: FIREFLY PRESS


 

Publication date: Paperback – 2 MARCH 2023

 


Paperback ISBN: 978 1913 102 746

 

 

Cover price for Paperback £ T.B.A.

 

Pages: 167

 

Age range: 7 - 9


Any dogs or cats? No, but B.O., the Mynah bird, has a crucial part!


 

 

SPOILER ALERT


Some as to plot direction and characters. 

 

 

Thank you to... 

 

We are exceedingly grateful to all at Firefly Press Publishers and NetGalley for the delight of getting to Read & Review this fun book before publication. 

 

As ever, our views are our own, and we only share reviews of books we like and feel our readers deserve to know about and that we hope they will enjoy. 

 

 

The plot



In this, the second instalment, our crime-fighting young 9-year-old friends, Callie and Grace, are heading off on a school trip to the Tower of London. But the last thing they expected was to find fellow detective Bo, the talking Mynah bird, in Callie's school bag. The second to last thing they expected was to get embroiled in a new mystery during the visit! 


Keeping a determined stowaway bird hidden on the bus isn't as easy as it sounds, especially as Callie's mum is the bus driver. Bo has his own reason for visiting, which might prove dangerous and distracting. 


Delightful hijinks ensue when the three pals think they spot something amiss and start to investigate! Keeping everything hidden from the adults is going to be difficult, especially under the eagle eyes of their teacher, Mrs Manning. I shall say no more for fear of spoiling things.




So, what did we think?

 


We loved the first book, and this new adventure sees team S.P.U.D. (Super Perceptive Undercover Detectives) take it to the next level — many levels, including the dungeons! They also get to deal with the Police and aspects of an actual investigation. All exciting and serious, which adds authentic flavour and realism to the whole book. 


The fact that Callie has hearing aids, aka 'slugs', never really gets any focus other than in a positive way in line with how they allow her to hear what Bo says. The characters also use B.S.L. (British Sign Language) as part of their sleuthing. This book is a wonderful example of how inclusiveness in children's writing can be fun and informative without using a sledgehammer. Which, of course, is exactly what we like. 💙



So . . . . 



Crunch time. 


Once again, Karen Owen has captured and skillfully distilled the essence of a great, fun adventure in an easy-to-read first-person voice of the lead protagonist, Callie Major. Coupled with Louise's dynamic illustrations, we get a readily accessible, compelling tale for younger and reluctant readers alike. The book is also educational in a lighthearted way. Well worth buying for the youngster in your life.




Want to buy a copy?

 

To get a copy, minus a talking bird, and being sure not to lose one's head by upsetting the local monarch, head on down to your local independent bookshop. There are plenty out there (both book shops and cats), and each shop is just waiting to serve up whatever kind of mystery, fun and adventure you desire.

 


KAREN OWEN'S web page can be found HERE or type this:  https://karenowen.co.uk/


 

FIREFLY PRESS web page can be found HERE or type this: https://fireflypress.co.uk/

 


LOUISE FORSHAW web page can be found HERE or type this:   https://www.munkeypants.com/

 

 

 

I shall leave you with a selfie of me, contemplating all things feline, and a few things with cream!  🙂

 

 




Till laters!

ERin