Cross bones: The dog with two tails by Jack Henseleit and Chris Kennett

A treasure map guides the reader past "The Shrine of the Golden Dog", along "The River of Lost Souls", around "The Abandoned Alphabet Soup Factory" and towards "The Cavern of Bad Memories" where X marks the spot. Then five pirates are seen setting off on a secret mission, starting in the Shrine of the Golden Dog, looking out for booby traps in the dark and dangerous tunnels. We are introduced to the five via a series of newspaper articles reporting their embarrassing incidents and spectacular losses, before they narrowly avoid a huge boulder and various missiles, bringing them to the tomb of Noah Silverniff, the Dog with Two Tails. Inside is the treasure map and as the cavern starts to collapse they narrowly escape and Captain Magnus Thunderump grasps the map declaring the sea dogs are about to set off on an even grander adventure. Not having read the previous book, A Dog’s Breakfast, it took a while to identify the characters and their traits but it is a rollicking adventure with lots of puns, fart jokes and misapprehensions with a cat in disguise, multiplying rabbits and an evil goldfish, what’s not to like? The black and white format (which should make it quite affordable) and action graphics move the story along well and the clear narrative panels will suit a young reader or a read aloud bedtime book where the visual gags can be enjoyed together.

Themes: Adventure, Humour, Pirates.

Sue Speck