A super intriguing and multi layered book from an incredible storyteller. The adventure, featuring a fabulous cast of animals, is wonderfully illustrated by Viviane Schwarz.

Surprisingly disappointing. This matches all the times an old author has knocked something up piecemeal for a younger, personal audience, and ultimately got a book-length story out of it. But here it has all the non sequiturs, oddities and unevenness of something made up on the fly – the dog and his new friends, and their adventures as he seeks to reunite himself with his favourite beach for a day out barely hang together. I remain convinced I could tell it was a too personal, in-need-of-ironing/editing piece even without the dedication admitting this is the kind of thing it began as. It even bodges the moral-giving ending. Add to unappealing artwork and it just didn't win me over at all.

This story is a little out there, but this is why I'm really enjoying it. When I'm following the dialogue between this group of animal friends on a quest, it feels a bit ‘Spike Milligan’-ish/'Dad's Army' with the lovable Rosen poetic, deep and emotive undertone sewing it all together.  Essentially… Gaston Le Dog is living in the countryside in a community of other creatures who each in turn have a skill that benefits each other leading them all to survive through a co-dependency of sorts. However, Gaston has a dream he can't ignore… he sees a beach, he has a memory of being happy and he needs to undertake a journey (with no idea how to get there). Along the way he meets some interesting other creatures who are all named along with their French translation. As the pack meet danger along the way they make new friends, have to solve riddles, find ways to survive, learn about new creatures and how they contribute to this fantastical story. I wouldn't say it's a funny, laugh-out-loud story (as the blurb suggests), but I would say for a child who loves a logic problem, solving a puzzle, has a quizzical mind, loves to spot clues and link things together, and animals… this could be ideal! It's highly clever, filled with emotional dilemma - sometimes between life and death. Explore the philosophy of society and the law of nature with this Franglais scruffy pup!! Vivane's frequent illustrations are a welcome addition. Nice bit of background to this book is that it was a story Rosen wanted to finish when he was suffering with Covid-19, and it is based on stories he'd tell his son on family holidays to France!

A lovely story about Gaston the dog, his dreams of the sea and the challenges he meets along the way

This should be a children fiction book but it's a multilayered story that made me think that this type of story can be allegorical.
Entertaining and multilayered, a well written and intriguing story. I loved Gaston and the storytelling.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Michael Rosen does what he does best in his classic storytelling style. This nostalgic story follows a dog who wants to rediscover his memories of the sea and embarks on quite an adventure to get there. The French element was gorgeous and we loved the different animal characters, especially the band of moles. The themes about pollution felt very relevant and the takeaway of the importance of friendship and teamwork was clear but not didactic. It's the cast of characters that make this really memorable taking me back to some of my own childhood favourites - nostalgia all round!

Michael Rosen is a legend and this book does not disappoint.

Gaston leave Dog is living a comfortable life with his friends but dreams of being by the sea.

We follow Gaston on this adventure as he faces many, many obstacles on the way.

The messaging the book is inspiring to young people. Gaston overcame such challenges with determination and a little help from friends he makes along the way.

Highly recommend

This book has so many layers that I do not even know where should I start.

On the surface, this is a simple story about a dog that dreams going to the sea. If you see it like that, your mind will have pictures of a happy dog frolicking on the beach. Of course his dream does not get turned into reality that easily. After all, what dreams will get turned into reality easily? He makes some friends whilst travelling to the sea and overcomes a lot of challenges. The middle part of the story which is his journey to the sea reminds people of fables and traditional tales but this is one that overturns the stereotypes of traditional tales. Nothing is what it seems, just like the some characters in the story. Good may be evil and evil may just be good. The adventure comes to an end in a full circle kind of way but it is an ending that is not the end. All the questions are answered but those are questions about the story so far, about the journey so far, not about the journey ahead.

On the inside, this story can be read in different ways and herein lies the million questions about the journey ahead. Is it a story about each individual's somewhat futile pursuit of dreams? Is it about how we leave our nest at a tender age with a head full of a simple dream? We have a comfort zone, someone that protects us. Yet we want to trade it for something else. We think we might gain something new from that journey. But to gain something, we have to leave something behind. If that is the case, it is never meant to be a simple gain; it is just a replacement, a trade off. What we actually end up with after giving up our past, after solving a lot of life's riddles, after working hard like a mindless robot, might not be what we have all dreamt of.

Or is this story about civilisation at large? Humans as a specie want to get a better life. We, or at least some of us, are ready to go about that in a scheming ruthless way. Along the way, there will always be ones that want to rob others of their hard work, or ones that want to charge an extortionist price on things that we want the most, the things that will enable us to survive. But at the end of a phase in time, it might all be just about getting to a place that we have all had a part in destroying. That is the end of a phase in time, not the end of infinity though.

How you decipher this book depends on how you see the world, life and human nature. Bit like how one character always looks down, one always looks up...

I probably will use it in my course for UKS2 students next year. In spite of its rather simple vocabulary, it is a book both accessible and not fully comprehensible to younger children. It takes a very old, battered soul to fully understand it, to feel that constant tug-o-war between hopes for the future and ties to the past, between what we think we are fighting for and what we are actually working for...

It’s a fact that Michael Rosen is a “ national treasure “ and without sounding too contrived this is a gem of book.

Gaston longs to see the beach and rediscover the sea from times past. So he embarks upon a journey to head to the water ; along the way encountering a range of different creatures with differing skills and personalities. His journey leads him to being held prisoner by an evil cat ; trapped underground by a band of moles; riding over a waterfall alongside a treasure chest of jewels.

This is a delightful and beautiful story about friendship and working as a team to overcome adversity - each creature’s name is the equivalent in French which adds to the charm. Viviane Schwarz’s illustration are enchanting capturing the escapades and emotions of the animals .

Yes, there are messages about greed and pollution but ultimately it is about the group of friends discovering that the biggest treasure of all is friendship and love.

The prose is pitch perfect for the 7-9 year old range and would make an excellent read for an independent reader , a bedtime story adventure or even a year 2-4 whole class read.

Highly recommended - a warm-hearted and fun tale from a man with a huge heart for entertaining children (young and old )