Their cat Velma is horrified at the idea. She has had the Chief and Professor to herself all this time. Why on earth would they introduce a dog of all things to her happy household? She goes completely mad when the Professor presents ROBODOG! Unlike Dave Pilkey’s somewhat stupid Dog Man, Robodog is not only brave, strong intelligent, and capable of heroic deeds, he is also a very likeable character who cries tears of oil when sad and whose biggest dream is to be a real dog, loved by his human parents. Walliams succeeds in combining his self-confessed love for the canine world with an amusing adventure story for young readers. Ratty, the rat-mouse, also plays a monumental role in teaching Robodog, and thus also the readers, life skills and healthy perceptions, such as acceptance of those different from you and the value of friendship and loyalty. It was a really cute story, and the bad guys were really good at being bad like Velma. I thought Mighty Mind, Hammerhands, The Chocolatier, The Headmistress and The Politician were all great baddies. I loved that Plank was so silly, I think if Plank could get a medal for anything it would be for being silly.

Fun story for kids about a Police Chief and Professor who are married and decide to create a RoboDog to help with the problems in Bedlam.

Christmas Gifts

David Walliams is a literary phenomenon whose books have sold more than 50 million copies worldwide and have been translated into fifty-four languages. David Walliams is fast becoming a global phenomenon in the world of children’s literature – his ability to wow fans is unprecedented with global sales over 14.1 million. Robodog is more on the silly side of the Walliams book scale, but there are plenty of laughs for young readers. This would be a great read aloud for years 6 and up, and fine for readers 7+. There are words that will stretch vocabs but all age appropriate. The illustrations are by Adam Stower and the book is suitable for readers of eight years and older.

The city of Bedlam has a HUGE crime problem. The Police Chief is stressed out as she can’t seem to get ahead of it, and the entire city is now suffering. There is rubbish everywhere, smog in the air and pollution in the rivers. I thought Robodog was a great book for kids, it had some fun and fantastic characters. The Professor, the lost patrol, Robodog and his friend Ratty were my favourite characters. This follows on from the success of Grandpa’s Great Escape, Awful Auntie, Demon Dentist, Ratburger and Gangsta Granny. All went straight to Children’s number one on release with Gangsta Granny and Billionaire Boy selling over a million copies to date. He’s the newest recruit at the Police Dog School and is supercharged for adventure. But can he stop the most feared duo in Bedlam, and their evil plans to ruin the city . . .?’

Robodog by David Williams is the perfect book for every dog lover. I absolutely loved the illustrations by Adam Stower. As a massive fan of David Walliams, I was excited to get my hands on this book. I had high hopes for this one but unfortunately, it didn’t quite meet my expectations. I have a few ideas on why this book didn’t work for me but it genuinely surprised me that I didn’t love this book.