The timeless story that we all know as The Wizard of Oz is given a twist in this original interpretation by master story-crafter Michael Morpurgo. It's the tale of a character that seems to be so often overlooked in the well-known story: Dorothy's faithful dog, Toto. We hear the whole story from his point of view, told in first person narrative from the moment the tornado sweeps across Dorothy's Kansas farm. Toto continues to tell the story as it happens to him in a witty and charming manner as their house is lifted into the air and whisked away to the mysterious land of Oz. Of course, Toto and Dorothy meet the absurd but loveable scarecrow without a brain, tin man without a heart and lion who lacks courage, and together they set off along the yellow brick road to find the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, hoping that he might help Toto and Dorothy return home. Along the way, the tin man, scarecrow and lion learn that what they think they are missing might have been there all along. [[Toto: The Dog-Gone Amazing Story of The Wizard of Oz by Michael Morpurgo and Emma Chichester Clark|Full Review]]
<!-- Smith -->
|-
| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|
[[image:Smith_101.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1405281669/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]]
| style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|
===[[The Hundred and One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith, Peter Bently and Steven Lenton]]===
[[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Emerging Readers|Emerging Readers]]
A dog is for life, not just for Christmas, as we were constantly told when I was young – I dare say people are still saying it, but it was quite prevalent way back then. I'm sure many people reading this will know that the Dearlys end up with 101 Dalmatians for Christmas themselves, and it must be debatable whether they stayed in the same house as them all come the new year. But what is beyond doubt is that the getting of so many cute pups was full of drama – drama that fills this young reader to bursting, and drama that comes in illustrations like these with no end of charm. [[The Hundred and One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith, Peter Bently and Steven Lenton|Full Review]]
<!-- DO NOT REMOVE ANYTHING BELOW THIS LINE -->
|}
{{newreview
|author=Dodie Smith, Peter Bently and Steven Lenton
|title=The Hundred and One Dalmatians
|rating=5
|genre=Emerging Readers
|summary=A dog is for life, not just for Christmas, as we were constantly told when I was young – I dare say people are still saying it, but it was quite prevalent way back then. I'm sure many people reading this will know that the Dearlys end up with 101 Dalmatians for Christmas themselves, and it must be debatable whether they stayed in the same house as them all come the new year. But what is beyond doubt is that the getting of so many cute pups was full of drama – drama that fills this young reader to bursting, and drama that comes in illustrations like these with no end of charm.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1405281669</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Anna Wright