Max Moves to Moscow

Moving to Moscow is an upheaval for Max the dog especially as snow is a new experience for him. He meets other dogs in the park and makes friends. They all play with Max’s ball, which to their complete bafflement disappears into the snow. They can’t understand why every ball they play with keeps disappearing. They look and they sniff but conveniently for the storyline (and frustratingly for the reader) they don’t dig. It’s all a bit contrived and doesn’t work. It’s hard for the reader to get drawn into such a thin storyline. From first impression to careful reading, I found it difficult to get enthused about this book. Both story and illustrations failed to engage my interest – the former seeming rather too simplistic and the latter a bit wishy-washy. Uninspiring.