Pokey Mess Spells Puppy Trouble!! [Review]

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Book Title: Puppy Trouble (Hook Book)
Author: Bijal Vachharajani
Illustrator: Rajiv Eipe
Cover Design: Samar Bansal
Publisher: Duckbill (an imprint of Penguin Random House)
Type: Paperback
Pages: 40 pages
Age Group: 4-7 years

When we received this book for review, we were totally blown away. Ishani loves dogs so a book with a puppy means inexplicable joy! I have specifically mentioned the cover designer’s name in the introduction to the book because Samar Bansal’s work is worth mentioning here. The cover looks so inviting and makes you keep guessing the story. We had quite a bit of a discussion on the possible storyline with the cover itself. Rajiv Eipe has done the illustrations beautifully with such authentic expressions captured on faces.

The story is about a boy Amit who wants to have a puppy but like my household, the parents are not ready for it yet. Here comes Rajiv Fua with a little puppy who has had a bad accident and injured his leg in the process. Rajiv Fua has put up adoption posts for Pokey, the puppy, as Pokey can not stay at his house as his cat wasn’t happy when she saw Pokey at the house.

Amit is excited beyond himself but he realises that the puppy is not as excited. Pokey is very weak and small. The family feeds her food and slowly she gains her strength. The adoption post does get some response in the beginning but when people get to know that Pokey has been hurt and about her being an Indian dog, they refuse to adopt her. So, Pokey stays with Amit’s family. While Amit had really wanted a puppy, he does not enjoy Pokey being around as Pokey creates a mess and even bites Amit. However, one day everything changes.

Wondering what changed and how? Do get this book for your kids to show them the value of kindness, pet care, the importance of road safety, the plight of stray dogs. Ishani had some very interesting observations to make:

1. She felt that it is strange that people did not adopt Pokey because of how she looked. She said if you are kind to dogs, you should be kind to all dogs irrespective of how they looked.
2. She thought Amit was not being fair by being angry with Pokey for creating a mess. He should have tried to train her.
3. She now wants a puppy AND a cat and she will train them to be friends!

Ishani recommends this book for kids aged 4 years and above. We really did enjoy this book thoroughly and if you want to have some laughs and discussion varied topics that I mentioned, please get this book.

There are other Hook Books published by Duckbill which are just as funny and engaging as this book is. Read the review of the previous book by author Bijal in this ‘Pet Trouble’ series – KITTEN TROUBLE here. You can read reviews of other hook books on our website. We have reviewed Biji’s in the Kitchen! , I won’t wash my hair. Other fun reads include Shoo! Crow here. Not to miss, I Want A Pet!, Cyrus the Whyrus, Passepartout, Is That You?….
Get Hooked: The Hook Book Box Set – a set of 11 Hook Books (440 pages) is also available which works out to be more economical!

If you’d like to take Pokey home, you might want to buy the book from Amazon (kbc affiliate link),

CLICK & BUY NOW!

Disclaimer: Prachi and her daughter Ishani are a part of the #kbcReviewerSquad and received this book as a review copy from the publisher via kbc.