Chuck and Danielle

Anyone who has read Peter Dickinson's novels for older readers, Eva and Bone from a Dry Sea, will know his powers of empathy with animals. He now uses these gifts in this new book for younger readers about indulgent Danielle, her long suffering mum and Chuck, the amazingly nervous whippet. Each chapter is a separate story in itself. Switching between Chuck and Danielle's viewpoints and with knowing asides to his child readers, Dickinson produces great comedy, sometimes knockabout and sometimes sharply witty, but all relying on observation of doggy (and child) behaviour. Dickinson's style is gossipy - he is a friend telling funny stories, not bothering with details and piling on the fun. But, in the background, the adults are going about the stressful business of their lives, a process that impinges on even children and dogs. This is an approachable book with a large typeface that will also read aloud well and provide a lot of amusement (and some food for thought). My only reservation is that the occasional line drawings, and the cover, do not make the most of the text.