The Day My Dog Got Famous

Ferris Foster, a 10 year-old talented cartoonist, enjoys drawing his comic, The Hoot, featuring the amazing Astoundog, and selling it to his classmates, but he is very disappointed when his annoying next-door neighbour, Destiny Dean, wins the end-of-term art challenge. He is equally miffed when Destiny’s films of her poodle Princess Foo Foo doing tricks goes viral on social media. His own dog, Aldo, is nowhere near being Astoundog: he is fat and smelly, and Ferris admits that he has about as much talent as a teaspoon.  Destiny’s taunts lead Ferris to accept a challenge to get more ‘Likes’ for Aldo than she does, promising him a brand new and super tablet if he wins. He tries training his dog, but Aldo just doesn’t do tricks, and prefers to doze.

Ferris’ Mums, Mum and Miz, have fostered lots of babies and toddlers, and he loves 3 year-old Keely, who communicates with Makaton signs and in her own language, and has been with them since she was a baby. When a new foster sister, Tia, aged 10, arrives for what is supposed to be a short stay while her Nan is in hospital, she is the first of his own age, and their relationship takes a while to settle, but in fact she quickly becomes an ally.  Nan’s problems mean that she can’t leave hospital until she has a stairlift, and Ferris and Tia aim to raise the money to buy one.  Ferris catches Aldo accidentally doing a back-flip onto a skateboard on film, and that clip really does go viral, leading to a pet agent inviting Ferris to the TV studios to record a commercial for dog food, (Tia goes with him, and subterfuge is required). Sadly – but perhaphs unsurprisingly – Aldo fails to perform on cue.

My reviews usually stop short of giving away too much about the endings, but this one is significant. It’s Tia who suggests one more film, and all the family, including Tia, film themselves saying what Aldo means to them, even though he is @Average Aldo. That film too goes viral, with thousands of people posting about their much-loved but ordinary pets, so Ferris wins the challenge, and the TV people give Aldo the opportunity to show off his true super-power, drooling over dog food.  Destiny gives Ferris the D-5000 that he has longed for, saying her Dad will buy her another one. It’s clear that Destiny only gets lots of expensive presents because her dad never comes to her events or spends any quality time with her, and Tia helps Ferris to realise that she taunts them across the garden fence because she is lonely. Tia has suggested other useful tactics, so Ferris asks Destiny to show him how the D-5000 works, and it looks as if they are going to be friends after all.

Illustrated throughout with Jen Carney’s own comic strips and cartoons as if drawn by Ferris, this is great fun to read, with some laugh-out-loud moments, and the importance of a loving family accepting and helping other people is subtly shown.