Christmas Chaos for the Hundred-Mile-An-Hour Dog by Jeremy Strong

Christmas Chaos for the Hundred-Mile-An-Hour Dog by Jeremy Strong
Buy Christmas Chaos for the Hundred-Mile-An-Hour Dog by Jeremy Strong at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: Confident Readers
Reviewer: Ruth Ng
Summary: Great starter book for a younger child wanting to read a 'real story'. Trevor and his crazy dog Streaker keep the fun coming thick and fast!
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 144	Date: October 2009
Publisher: Puffin
ISBN: 978-0141327242
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Trevor's troublesome dog, Streaker, has had three puppies. They were fathered, according to local bully Charlie Smugg, by one of his Alsatians. Trevor would ideally like to keep them, at least until Christmas, but his parents have other ideas and put them up for sale. Charlie Smugg declares that he's entitled to half of the money from the sale of the puppies, but before they can be sold the three puppies go missing in the park and it's up to Trevor and his best friend Tina to try and track them down before Charlie demands his cash!

This is a lovely, funny, easy read. Trevor is a likeable character, and I particularly enjoyed all of his interactions with his parents and their tongue-in-cheek replies to him. It's funny, in the silly sort of way that 7 year olds like, and has plenty of action throughout to keep you reading. I personally liked the somewhat awkward friendship between Trevor and Tina, with Trevor taking the typical 'blind to all female advances' role and Tina acting out the 'happy to be best friends but wouldn't mind more' role to perfection. The part where she tries to bribe him to kiss her using chocolate made me laugh out loud!

A fondness for dogs helps with this story, and I could identify with many of Trevor's troubles with Streaker having had my own crazy (but loveable) mutt as a child. Streaker has good intentions, but does seem to tumble into trouble at every opportunity. I also liked Tina's dog Mouse (a Saint Bernard...) who is rather daft and gentle. The black and white pictures throughout the book help the story along, and although it's easy to read it isn't simplistic or patronising to kids, and Jeremy Strong uses a wide variety of vocabulary to keep it both challenging and entertaining. I think both boys and girls would enjoy this romp of a story, and it's one that could be read over and over.

I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to The Bookbag.

Further reading suggestion: You may want to start with a previous Streaker the dog story or slightly older children might prefer to try Weird by Jeremy Strong.

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You can read more book reviews or buy Christmas Chaos for the Hundred-Mile-An-Hour Dog by Jeremy Strong at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
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