Bad Dog Flash by Ruth Paul – Review & Giveaway

Bad Dog Flash Review & Giveaway

An Autumn 2014 Kids’ Indie Next List Pick

Dogs will be dogs. They chase cats. They dig holes. They get excited to see you, and nearly knock you over. They’re not trying to be bad. They don’t want to make you mad, but sometimes they do. This sounds like some children I know!

In Bad Dog Flash, by award-winning NZ author and illustrator Ruth Paul, (Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, Oct. 7, 2014, $15.99, Ages 3-8), a scruffy rascally puppy named Flash, can’t seem to do anything right. He’s only playing with the cat when he chases her up a tree. Flash didn’t mean to break the window. He just wanted to bring his stick inside. Those shoes smelled so good, he couldn’t help but lick and chew them, and the laundry hanging on the line …

Swing. Drip. Slap. Drip. Slop, slip, flap, flip…rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrip! “Bad dog, Flash!”

… he couldn’t resist.

Flash continues to misbehave and be corrected, in this adorable picture book, until he’s sent to the dog house for a time out, and is one sad pup. I giggled at the smirk Ruth Paul put on the cat’s face every time Flash got in trouble. Her old-time illustrations remind me of the classic Tip and Mitten books by David McKee from my early childhood.

Her text, with its rhythm, rhyme, and repeating refrain of “Bad dog, Flash,” make this a perfect read-aloud book for toddlers, and a delightful early reader for older children. Children will relate to Flash, who always seems to get in trouble, and will like it even more when he’s invited back into the house to snuggle, and finally hears, “Good dog, Flash!”

– Reviewed by MaryAnne Locher

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