The Funny Life of Pets by James Campbell

Bloomsbury, 2018. ISBN 9781408889947
(Age: 8+) Recommended. A dog's nose is more than 1 000 times more sensitive than our nose. That's why if you do a bottom burp in a dog's face it will go cross-eyed and fall over. Imagine a sausage dog's dilemma when it's eating sausages - the resemblance of this tasty snack to their Granny is uncanny! Uncover top tips for feeding goldfish and avoiding a mini tsunami in your house causing dinosaurs to evolve from your carpets! Discover some of the rarest dog breeds in the world, like the Jack Russell Sprout . . . but remember, they're not just for Christmas.
This is truly one of the funniest books I have ever read. Campbell have very cleverly mixed fact with fiction and will be a real hit with the young readers (8 and up) - especially the advice that is given to convince parents to allow them to get just the pet they want. It has a mix of quirky illustrations, sign posts indicating what directions you can choose and text. It is a little like a choose your own adventure book, whereby you can choose what you want to do. It is not a book that has to be read from cover to cover. I sneakily gave it to one of my Year 6 reluctant readers and he could not put it down - he was very keen to borrow it. I can also see myself using it to fill in the odd five minutes - picking it up and reading a couple of pages. A very lighthearted book that is a must have.
Kathryn Schumacher