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Review & Giveaway: Mr Dog and the Rabbit Habit

BooksforTopics Reading for Pleasure Recommendations

Today we feature a new illustrated chapter book suitable for readers in the 6-8 age bracket. The Mr Dog books are a collaboration between children’s writer Steve Cole and TV broadcaster and explorer Ben Fogle, who brings his real-life animal experiences into the stories.

Read on for a special signed book giveaway and a review by panel member Emma, who tells us more about the first instalment…

Book Title: Mr Dog and the Rabbit Habit (available here)
Author: Ben Fogle and Steve Cole
Illustrator: Nikolas Ilic
Publisher: Harper Collins
Publication Date: March 2019
Most Suitable for: Years 2-4
Reviewed By: Emma Hughes, School Librarian
 Mr Dog loves chasing rabbits. He doesn’t chase them to hunt them or eat them, he just chases them for the sake of it. Mr Dog loves playing ‘tag, you’re it!’, but during a game of tag in the field with Mrs Rabbit, she inadvertently finds herself in a trap. Fortunately, Mr Dog is a dog of the world and he is easily able to identify the trap. As he talks to Mrs Rabbit, it becomes clear that many of the bunnies in the field have gone missing recently. Why would anybody want to get rid of the rabbits?

Mr Dog makes a promise to take care of Mrs Rabbit’s babies, as they are only 2 weeks old and cannot survive without their mother. When he identifies which burrow the bunnies are in, he is surprised to find that alongside her own 3 bunnies there is a large Angora rabbit called ‘Socks’ pretending to be their sibling. Together the four rabbits and a dog set about on a mission to rescue Mrs Rabbit and find out what exactly is going on over the other side of the fence.

This is a great little story with appealing illustrations throughout. The narrative interweaves themes of animal welfare, archaeology, ecology and history, making for a fantastic read-aloud with huge heart. The second instalment is publishing in May and I cannot wait to find out what Mr Dog gets up to next!

 You can order Mr Dog and the Rabbit Habit online or from your local bookshop or library. The second book, Mr Dog and the Seal Deal, publishes 30th May and is available to pre-order.

****GIVEAWAY****

Thanks to the publishers at Harper Collins, we have 5 signed copies of Mr Dog and the Rabbit Habit and Mr Dog and the Seal Deal.

To enter to win a set of both books, simply follow @booksfortopics on Twitter and retweet the giveaway tweet by 11.59pm 2nd May 2019 (T&Cs here).

 
 

Many thanks to the publisher for sending us a review copy of this book and to Emma for reviewing the book.

 

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