by Ken Brown
(Anderson Press, 10.99)
This book features a character all children should be able to relate to - a cheeky puppy who causes chaos but doesn't get caught. There's an excellent action picture of an old bucket being kicked by a panicking donkey, shocked at seeing the monster-like face of Mucky Pup. 'I like it at the beginning when he tries to chase his tail,' commented my reviewer. Here a pale blue line sweeps across the puppy's body to convincingly show the reader his swivelling action. 'I like the end because he can't be blamed because he's nice and clean and he should be blamed.'
When the honest Pig shows Mucky Pup his reflection in the river, Mucky Pup is so scared that he grabs hold of his friend and pulls them both into the water. This automatically spruces Mucky Pup up, so that when the farmer wants to know who has made the mess in the shed, the children, on the side of the reader, attest that it can't be the puppy because he is clean. We feel privileged to know something the farmer doesn't.
