Seb and Hamish
Jude and Niki Daly
Frances Lincoln Children’s Books
Like this reviewer, (who was mauled by an Alsatian aged five) young Seb suffers from cynophobia. Consequently, when he accompanies his mother on a visit to Mrs Kenny and hears ‘Woof-woof! Woof-woof’ coming from inside when they ring the doorbell his response is “Home.” (think mine would have been too.)

Seb’s unease worsens when he comes face to face with the high-spirited Hamish but once he’s safely shut away, Seb begins to entertain himself.

But when Seb stops his toy train for a tea break (courtesy of Mrs Kenny’s freshly baked cookies) he loses the nose button from a cookie and it rolls under a door: The very door behind which is Hamish. The two come finger to tongue

and then, eye-to-eye, then slowly and tentatively, a new friendship is formed.

(Did time speed up here, one wonders? Can a deep-seated fear be overcome so easily and rapidly?)
Nevertheless a heartwarming story all in all and it’s good to see that Mrs K. was so understanding and accommodating about Seb’s fear of her pet; not all dog-owners are.
Very engaging watercolour illustrations; I particularly love the littering of canine

(or rather dachshund) ephemera in some scenes.

Monster
Michael Rosen and Neal Layton
Bloomsbury Children’s Books
A witty, offbeat tale of starting school told from the viewpoint of a book-writing dog, whose human, Rover is going to school for the first time. Rex, (who bears a striking resemblance to the author), Cindy – Rover’s mum and Howler (so named on account of her continual Cindy-distracting howls), make up the rest of the cast. Oh and the Monster of the title from whom the narrator seeks to save his pet human. Seemingly the entire family is in a bit of a state judging from the chaotic scenes on the all-important morning

and the frantic departure, which leaves our canine narrator alone in the house, temporarily at least. But then he makes a break for it, following his sniffer, hot on the trail of Rover

all the way to ‘a place where hundreds of other small humans are kept. ‘ The determined creature finds a way into the ‘cage’ (full of monsters?) where he proceeds to create chaos and confusion before ascertaining that all is well with Rover; and having discovered she’s actually enjoying herself, goes back home. And there he waits until her return, just like always.
Comical telling and visuals are part and parcel of the package, the third to feature this family and its artistic creators.

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