Robodog by David Walliams. Illus. by Adam Stower

The city of Bedlam is becoming increasingly lawless thanks to a long list of supervillains, headed by the two nastiest, Mighty Minds and Hammerhands, who are terrorising the city with a crime spree.  The Chief of Police is a very dynamic, but very short woman, who’s hopes of getting Bedlam under control hinge on the success of her special project – Police dogs.  Her plan seems to be working except for a selection of truly poor dogs who seem to be more of a hinderance than help.  The Chief is married to a very clever Professor who is an inventor and spends most of her time in her cellar laboratory.  After a disastrous day at the police dog academy the Chief has an idea.  She asks the Professor to invent a mechanical police dog that can do all the things the many other dog breeds do.  Robodog seems to be the perfect solution to the crime problem, and all goes well except that one member of the Chief’s family is not so impressed – Velma the cat wants Robodog and all the other police dogs out of the way and she plots with her fellow cats to get this done once and for all.  In the meantime, a large robbery is underway and all the villains in Bedlams jails have suddenly escaped!

Chaos fills the action-packed pages of this story in typical Walliams style, with plenty of illustrations to keep interest high and the use of a variety of large, highlighted text to emphasise the hilarious antics of the cats, dogs and super villains. Friendship and teamwork are also a prominent theme as Robodog tries to figure out what it takes to be a real dog.

Themes: Robots, Dogs, Police.

Gabrielle Anderson