by Terrie Chilvers; Artwork by Tim Budgen.
An Adventure Book Review by Erin the Literary Cat©, International Book Reviewer.
Hello, and welcome to my Sunday into Monnday Book Review and selfie featuring Adventures in Middle-Grade Fiction.
If you're here for a selfie, scroll on down!
This week we are proud to host the final, tail wagging leg of a Book Tour for this new kids' adventure featuring one determined Sausage Dog called Michael.
Before we do the honours, let's just nip over to Upper Much-Mousing to see what Erin is up to . . . .
"What are you doing, dear?" Mrs H had just entered the Manor House's library room. She held a tray with Erin's mid-morning snack and a brown paper-wrapped package. It had been delivered by No Brakes Home Delivery Service, an offshoot of Mrs Singh's ever-increasing attempts to diversify her corner shop empire. Sadly, the name lived up to the quality of Farmer Clarksins's old Land Rover, which Mrs Singh had salvaged from the village pond after a late-night revel had gone awry.
"I'm practising my clairvoyance, Mrs H," Erin replied, taking her paw away from her temple.
"Are you any good?" Mrs H's raised eyebrow reflected the scepticism she had come to expect from Erin's numerous and failed endeavours, no matter how well-intentioned. There was always a first time, though; she decided to put her companion to the test. "Hmm. Well, tell me what you have divined so far?"
"Well, for starters I knew you were going to come in here at this very moment. And that you'd have a book wrapped in brown."
Mrs H rolled her eyes and sighed. "Hardly a surprise given it was delivered by the courier, earlier and I ALWAYS bring your snack and post at this time. But go on, is there anything else?"
"Well, I knew you'd roll your eyes and say that."
"I always say that, dear."
"I knew you'd say that too. And if you don't believe me, I wrote it down on this piece of paper and sealed it in an envelope I posted yesterday." Erin pointed to the small white envelope sticking out of Mrs H's apron. "Go on, open it."
Mrs H did just that and raised both eyebrows in surprise. "Almost word-perfect, Erin. I am almost impressed. Tell me, though, what is in the package?"
"Hang on." Placing a paw to her temple again, Erin closed her eyes and gave a somewhat constipated look that had Mrs H quite taken aback. "It's coming through. Yes, it's a free book about sausages. No. No hang on, it's about a dog made of sausages. No, drat. The mist is clearing now and I see the name Michael and an amazing adventure."
Mrs H delved into the cardboard packaging to reveal a red-covered book with a Dachshund on the cover. "Most impressive, dear. But tell me, how much would this morning's special delivery cost. If it hadn't been free that is. If you get it right I'll let you off your chores. Wrong, and you'll have to help me sort out my chores. How's that sound?"
"Easy peasy." Erin strained again and let out a low meditative chant. Her eyes snapped open, and she smiled. "It is a snip at only £6.99 from all good bookshops."
"Sorry dear, but that is incorrect. It actually cost £699 plus a hefty tip to the courier so he can have physio on his back."
The smile on Erin's face disappeared instantly."What! It can't be. The price I paid on the site was £6.99."
"Ahha. Got you. The price of a book may be £6.99, dear, but the price for 100 copies is one hundred times more. I think you have been, how they say, rumbled. Fortunately, I have spoken to the publisher and they will take back ninety-eight copies and credit my card."
"Oh. Well, I guess I need to practice some more then, Mrs H. Still look on the bright side, at least you don't have to carry them to Mrs Singhs to post back."
Mrs H smiled. "That is one blessing for sure, dear. YOU, however, as part of your chores, will be doing it. I'll get the pony and trap ready and you can take her and the surplus books back to Mrs Singh where you can help package them up. Then you can do the shopping" With that, Mrs H turned and strolled out of the room, leaving Erin wide-eyed, stunned and wondering how her scheme had gone so terribly wrong. Which, of course, Mrs H had known all along it would, and that wasn't down to mind reading!
And now, on to today's main feature and the star of our book review who really does have a talent.
This week we have a rather delightful dog called Michael, who discovers his very own superpower, which he hopes will raise him to star status . . .
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AUTHOR: Terrie Chilvers
Artwork throughout by: Tim Budgen
Published by: Firefly Press
Publication date for the Paperback: 8 June 2023
Paperback ISBN: 978 - 191 544 4134
Cover price for Paperback: £6.99
KINDLE price: £2.79
Pages: 182
Age range: 6 upwards
Any
dogs or cats? Lots of super talented dogs.
SPOILER ALERT
This is quite a short book, so Yes, some as to plot direction and characters.
Thank you to...
We
are exceedingly grateful to Graeme Williams and Karen of the Firefly Press Publishing Team for inviting us to host the final stop.
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 like and feel our global
readers deserve to know about and that we hope they, their children, friends and students will enjoy.
The plot
Michael is a young and ambitious Dachshund. He lives in Snuffles-by-Sea, in a house he inherited from his Aunt. He is a sausage dog who just knows he is destined for fame and fortune. A superstar in the making. The only thing is, he doesn't know what his superstar ability is. The most famous dog in the town is a Chocolate Labrador called Susan, who won the talent show for balancing peanuts on her nose. Michael knows he can do better. But it isn't until he is in the park one day that he discovers what he is good at. He hears a nearby dog talking to himself about his new fav stick. But when Michael looks, the dog, Stanley Big Dog, has his mouth full of stick. The penny drops and our hero realises he can read minds. But to prove it isn't a one-off fluke, he enlists Stanley to help him practice mind reading.
One thing leads to another, and Michael and Stanley enter the Snuffles-by-Sea talent show, where the star is none other than Susan. Things don't go as planned; Priscilla the Pug calls Michael out as a fake! When Michael cant read Priscilla's mind, it seems to the audience her allegation is true. But Michael knows it isn't, and for some bizarre reason, a pug's mind is unfathomable and unreadable. Nonetheless, still determined to be a superstar, he calls a meeting in the local cafe called the Pork Chop Café. Quite by chance, Stanley's Uncle, Humphrey Huge Dog, is in town. He happens to be on the hunt for new talent for a review show in Hollywoof, no less.
Now it's fair to say wheels start to turn, and before too long, Michael, aided and hindered by Stanley, are embroiled in attempts to get to Hollywoof, where they hope to find fame and fortune.
Whether they succeed and how much misunderstanding, chaos, and destruction ensues, I'll let you, dear readers, find out for yourselves. Believe me, when I say I wasn't quite expecting the grand showdown at the end. And who knew balancing peanuts on ones nose was such an art. Not I for sure, but then I am just a cat.
So, what did we think?
I love the concept of creatures set in their own human-like worlds, tackling human-like desires, emotions and situations. Not giving anything away here, but Michael has choices to make and rejection to face. Michael learns about more than just seeking stardom. How he rises to the occasion, or otherwise, is well dealt with.
Life's lessons are always better told and explored through a fun medium, which this book ably does.
The message is clear that each of us has an important part to play, and nobody is an island.
I enjoyed the double act of Michael and Stanley Big Dog. Stanley reminds me of all the happy-go-lucky big dogs out there who get singularly focused on sticks and their food and who sometimes come up short in the good sense department. In fact, which of us can't point to dogs we know that act just like the characters in this book and make us smile and love them even more for it.
So . . . .
Crunch time.
A fun, easy-to-read adventure delightfully illustrated by Tim Budgen that will definitely appeal to the younger reader.
So, if you want a little something different, something to share over a weekend or a long trip, then Michael, the Amazing Mind-Reading Sausage Dog is for you. But whatever you do, don't leave the sausages lying around!
Want to buy a copy?
To get a copy, please head down to your local independent bookshop. Sticks, sausages, spangly waistcoats and balancing peanuts are optional. There are plenty out there and each shop is just waiting to serve up whatever kind of mystery, fun and adventure you desire.
But hang on, we also have
***** A GIVEAWAY *****
Sorry, it's not pork chops this time. Mrs H has checked her pension pot, and decided that two lucky commenters will each receive a copy of this as a gift from Mrs H and me, subject to there being a delivery service from Amazon to your neighbourhood!
Two names will be pulled from Mrs H's biscuit tin on Monday 19th June 23, so don't delay.
Terrie Chilvers' web page can be found HERE or type this: https://www.terriechilvers.com/
Tim Budgen's web page can be found HERE or type this: https://timbudgen.com/
Firefly Press' web page can be found HERE or type this: https://fireflypress.co.uk/
And now, the Sunday-into-Monday Selfie.
We
are joining Janet Blue from the Cat on My Head blog for the weekly
parade of selfies from all manner of companion creatures, Dogs and Cats, from across the
pond and around the globe.
To go to Janet's blog selfie page, please click this LINK. or type / cut and paste https://thecatonmyhead.com/look-into-my-eyes-2/
I shall leave you with a picture of me, sadly minus any pork chops or sausages! 🙂 🙂
Till laters!
ERin
