Review: WHEN THE ICE DOG COMES

Indeed he does, and according to the Puppy Dog's Handbook beloved of the Westie breed, adventure is sure to occur. Corrie is a versatile Westie who reads, thinks, and emails! She desires to be Queenzie of the Westies, but first she must adventure to locate her long-lasting mammy and pappy, and she won't be deterred.

The world of communication is constantly changing where once we tended to use the medium of letter writing and actually telephoning someone now it is all e-mail and texting. However before reading this delightfully quirky book by P K Bell I did not realise the use of e-mails extended to the dog community. The Lady Corrie-Rex Arabella Jayne o’ Kerrowdown an’ Drum e-mails are so grammatically and word pawfect that I assume that she must have gone to a rather superior boarding (kennel) school. This is the second book in the series and sees Corrie slipping the lead and swapping identities with Max, the Muckhart Warrior to pursue her quest to find her long lost Mammy and Pappy who have been kidnapped by evil dog stealers. A surreal adventure follows that ends up on the shores of Loch Ness and an encounter with the fabled monster who enjoys a supplied fish and chips supper.

Even for an adult like myself I found this rather amusing and there is quite a lot of social commentary here regarding school bullying and class consciousness. The illustrations by Pea Jasper-Osborne are rather wonderful and lend credence to the text. If I was a child I would certainly have enjoyed this book and would be looking forward to perhaps further adventures in the series.