Charlie's Checklist

Charlie, a mongrel puppy, is the last of his litter to find a home. He places an advertisement inviting potential owners to write to him, but they all fail to meet his strict criteria (must be kind to animals, etc.). One day a letter arrives from a girl who seems ideal. Luckily, just before he leaves the countryside for the city life he has longed for, Charlie realises that Chester, the boy from the farm next door and his friend, is the ideal person to look after him. Successful read aloud picture books tend to appeal to adults as much as they do to children. The story is very suitable for young children but the vocabulary is at times too much aimed at the adult audience and when reading aloud to younger children some sentences need to be simplified. 'What is criteria?' Chester asks at one point, an (intentional?) error that remains unhelpfully uncorrected. There is also initial confusion for a young child over just who Charlie is. Chester, the boy from the farm, is shown on the first page but is not introduced by name until seven pages into the story. Despite these reservations, the book is one that children will like having read to them. They will also enjoy the warmth and humour of the bright illustrations, painted in childlike style in vivid acrylics.