The Puppy Brothers Adventures with Forest Friends by Andy Rogers (Children's, Picture book, 9/10E)

 October 2013, DL Publishing, 39 pages, ebook & Paperback, Review copy

Summary from Puppy Brothers Adventures website

Buddy and Harry are two white puppies who love to play all day long. Their mom never lets them play ball inside the house, but guess what they do one day, when she goes shopping? That’s right! They get their favorite ball and start kicking it as far as they can. When they break mom’s beautiful flower pots, Buddy and Harry know they’re in trouble. But not because of the flower pots, but because they are covered in mud and they hate baths. Buddy and Harry decide to run away in the forest to avoid the most dreaded hot, soapy bath. In the forest they make new friends – a rabbit, a chipmunk and a little bear – and they have a lot of fun. They even go on an adventure together. Buddy and Harry have never been on an adventure before, and they don’t know that adventures can be dangerous. Will they make it back home? And what will their mommy say?

Nayuleska's thoughts

This may sound odd but I have no idea how this came to be on my ereader (I'm the only user), however I'm glad to have stumbled across it as it is a gem of a read. The puppies are adorable, and just like energetic children. They act like children by running away after doing something they shouldn't. They make new friends and half fun-although that involves teasing another dog which wasn't exactly friendly and kind. They got away with their crime, which I sort of wish they hadn't (this is partly why the grade is full marks), but encountered tough emotions when they finally return home.

These emotions are realistic to when readers do similar acts - being able to empathise with the puppies despite them not being human was a plus for me. The other reason why this tale missed full marks is because despite one of the puppies' new friends having misgivings about playing instead of doing their chores there wasn't a consequence to that, which I expected to happen by the way that part of the story was told. It feels that the puppies got off too lightly without learning their behaviour was far from ideal. 

Find out more on the dedicated website. 

Suggested read

Other mischievous young creatures can be found in The Fox and It by Beanie Lei (Children's, Picture book, 10E/10E)