Astro's Adventures: The Great Escape

by Susan Day

There is a special organisation responsible for the wellbeing of all dogs. Its main goal is to make sure that all dogs are provided with a proper home, a nice warm bed and a cat to chase. This organisation is kept secret from every human being and operates, as you are about to see, right under our very noses. In this children's story, the first of Astro’s Adventures series, Astro learns a valuable lesson about being spoilt, about friendship and about loyalty. At first, he appears to be an embarrassment to The Organisation when they find out he’s not been held prisoner but is in fact, very well looked after. However, things turn when Commander Rocky decides to teach Astro a valuable lesson and Astro’s true character shines. In the end it is Commander Rocky who learns something very important about this scruffy dog. All the dogs in Astro’s Adventure are real and they all play and run together regularly. The cats, Nigel, the twin tabbies and Speed Bump Charlie (yes, that’s his real name) are also alive and living, all be it, reluctantly with the Astro’s Adventures gang. This story will appeal to all the family and to anyone who enjoys the company of a dog.

112 pages, Paperback

First published July 26, 2011

About the author

Although born overseas, Susan calls Australia home. She is an arts therapist practitioner, an educator, author and an artist. Being creative and sharing the power of art with others is dream come true. Susan is also passionate about helping people with trauma, has extensive experience in the disability sector, takes an interest in pet care and has trained hundreds of dogs using her own positive, reward-based method. She dabbles in watercolours, loves gardening (as backbreaking as it is), and sometimes just loves to watch a good program on the telly.

Most of all, she loves to write. Whether it is creating art therapy books, creating stories in the Astro's Adventures series or writing non-fiction books about dogs and their care, Susan has made a profession out of the written word. Her collection of books is a reflection of her diverse passions. She's also super-good at time management and feels blessed to have the ability to share her passions.

Reviews

[Kathryn Svendsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Astro is a spoiled dog who thinks he is being tortured because his owner won't take him for a walk off leash for a couple weeks when he injures his already hurt leg. He gets in contact with the Organisation and they make plans to liberate him from his cruel incarceration.

Upon finding out that Astro was not bring mistreated, Commander Rocky becomes angry and to show Astro a lesson, has his operatives take Astro to The Checkout, otherwise known as the dog pound where many dogs meet their early demise. Astro learns just what a wonderfully blessed life he truly leads and is determined to help other dogs to have the same opportunity.

This was a cute early novel for children just starting to read chapter books. Children who love animals (dogs in particular) will surely have fun reading about the world from a dog's viewpoint.

There were several drawings included in the book. They appeared to be drawings coloured with pencil crayon and added some interest to the story. I liked the pacing of the book.

I did feel that the characters were not all that well developed and even by the end of the book I couldn't remember which breed of dog each of the operatives were. Despite this, I still believe Astro's Adventures will interest young readers new to chapter books, particularly those with a love for dogs. I gave this book 4 stars out of 5.

Thank you to the author for providing a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. A positive opinion was not required. All thoughts are my own.

This review was published on my blog Shelf Full of Books http://kathrynsshelffullofbooks.blogs...

[Chantal Bellehumeur · Rating 5 out of 5]

Looking for a way to keep your children entertained and away from the television? I recommend getting a copy of "The Great Escape."

Susan Day has a good imagination and shares her original idea of how Doggie Daycares came to exist. This cute fictional dog tale is an excellent book to read with your children (about 7 to 11 years of age) or for kids to read on their own. It was well written and the animal characters were quite interesting. The book has adventure, comedy, as well as a couple of good lesson to be learnt.

The fun book also contains nice color pictures on some of the pages.

[Darrin Mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awww I love Astro's adventures and this one doesn't disappoint. Susan Day has captured the essence of good storytelling yet again, which is to draw the reader into a world they don't usually visit. And Astro's world is an awesome place to be. It will tickle your funny bone on one hand, and bring a little tear to your eye on the other. But it's all for good because the moral to the story is that dogs are really very good animals and deserve our love, especially this one. Astro, go you good thing :)

[David Lloyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an entertaining story about a secret society of dogs that help other dogs. I thoroughly enjoyed the story. The author did a fantastic job creating believable characters, mostly dogs that I really liked. I particularly enjoyed the mannerisms of all the animals, even the cats.

[Victoria Zigler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great little story, with an excellent message about how important it is to care for your pets. It has an entertaining plot, as well as a fantastic cast of canine and feline characters. The only reason I don't give it the full five stars is because the cats and dogs are meant to be just like your average pet cats and dogs, yet they have physical capabilities that those animals could never have. Still, it was a wonderful story, and I look forward to reading the rest of the series!