Rover

by Michael Rosen, Neal Layton (Illustrator)

"Layton's wildly exuberant illustrations provide the perfect accompaniment to the four legged narrator's refreshing brand of humour" - "The Guardian". This is a completely topsy-turvey view of a world seen from a dog's eye point of view - a very funny story which turns to real drama when the little girl gets lost on the beach and the search is on to find her.

Genres: Picture Books, Family, Dogs, Humor, Childrens

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Michael Rosen, a recent British Children’s Laureate, has written many acclaimed books for children, including WE'RE GOING ON A BEAR HUNT, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury, and I’M NUMBER ONE and THIS IS OUR HOUSE, both illustrated by Bob Graham. Michael Rosen lives in London.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[Christina Reid · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a story about pets, but from a different perspective to what you might expect. In this, our narrator, the dog, tells us about his pets - a little girl called Rover and her parents. It was funny to read the dog's impressions of the world, especially considering that he sees himself as fully in control of everything that happens e.g. he takes his pet humans to the car and they drive it to the beach, etc.
The couple trying to eat each other on the beach was slightly off-putting, but the story of the dog finding his lost human was quite fun.

[G Beulah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is bright and colourful, with charmingly drawn illustrations. The unnamed narrator offers a new view of the world which is funny and engaging when read aloud, with plenty of talking points. I think this book could be well used as a starter for creative writing, encouraging children to put themselves in someone else's shoes (or paws!) and write through their eyes. One of my own childhood favourites, and still funny today!

[Nicola · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book didn't work for us. Miss 4 found it really confusing that the dog is narrating the story (and the way it is worded). I think there could have been a clearer message about the dangers of running away at the beach. I also thought the random couple making out wasn't needed either.

Miss 4 and I like to explore different books and authors at the library, sometimes around particular topics or themes. We try to get different ones out every week or so; it's fun for both of us to have the variety and to look at a mix of new & favourite authors.

[Francesca Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn’t expecting the story to be told from the dog’s perspective. The dog told the story about his family on a day out to the seaside. The dog points out what he observes which is quite humorous. For example, he thinks that humans sunbathing is them lying down pretending to be dead. The little girl from the family who is called Rover goes missing. Her parents, Rex and Cindy send the dog looking for her with her toy rabbit. The dog eventually finds her and he is seen as a hero.

[Raquel Pilar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the way the author told the story as the dog! I sometimes got confused, because he is the leader of he family (in his point of view, of course) and he named his pet "Rover" (the daughter of the family).
The father is Rex and the mother is Cindy and he describes their actions and his as if he were really in charge of everything! Very sweet!

[Hana Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very comical book about a young dog in a small family. The book follows a dogs thought processes about the human world and its very funny for both adults and children.
There is a good amount of decodable words so makes a good book for younger readers. illustrations are fun and vibrant
I would recommend this book due to its amazing comedy

[Tobias Hardie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very lovely pictures and a funny story about a dog and his pet human, Rover

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Woof woof 🐶

[Jcooley723]

Very cute book. The kids really liked the bright pictures. I have used this several times in class.

[Stargazer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved it, the kids loved it, could be a series, but didn't quite like the follow-up, Howler, as much.