You have met Claude, haven't you? He's a funny, plump little dog whose best friend is Sir Bobblysock and the two of them frequently get themselves embroiled in all sorts of adventures. This time Claude heads, accidentally, towards a career on stage. But something is amiss in the theatre. Can Claude help save the show?
I do look forward to reading each new Claude book as it comes out. My daughter always wonders just what Claude and Sir Bobblysock are going to get up to each time. She's six years old now and this time around she read some of the book by herself. She liked the story, and she felt it was easy enough for her to read without too many words she would get stuck on. Of course , we read it together too, thank goodness, because I think I probably enjoy the books even more than she does!
Claude heads out into town, with Sir Bobblysock of course, and they find themselves in a dance class. Claude has some trouble with the ballet portion of the class as his paws get tangled up in his ears. But when the teacher gives him some tap shoes he is much happier (although Sir Bobblysock feels one of his bad heads coming on!) Then when a fly buzzes up Claude's jumper suddenly Claude is leaping and prancing and spinning and turning all over the place! Everyone is amazed by Claude's wonderful new dance and he is invited to join them at the afternoon's Variety Show performance.
In the theatre , he meets some interesting people - a magician, and a lady who can break glass with her voice. However, something is not quite right in the theatre. A ghost is causing havoc, ruining everyone's performance. But there's something funny looking about the ghost, and thanks to Claude having read a book about ghosts just the night before he's able to reveal the truth of what's going on and save the show!
It's a lovely, silly story and once again the well -written words and delightful illustrations go together beautifully. I love Claude's initial tap dancing, and also when he can't do the stretches in the warm -up because his tummy gets in the way! He's a sweet little dog, and it's amazing how much emotion Alex T Smith manages to put into a stripey sock! Great fun to read together, or nice for those who want to try out reading by themselves too.
If you don't know Claude, here's where you need to [[Claude in the City by Alex T Smith|begin]]! We also gave 5 stars to [[Claude in the Country by Alex T Smith]].
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