Toodle the cavoodle: Crunchy munchy by Richard Tulloch. Illus. by Heidi Cooper Smith

Toodle is the cutest caboodle around and is always in trouble for doing silly things. He loves treats and knows just where to get them. The odd socks man always has a pocketful of Puppy Pals for him, the girl with sparkly hair sometimes lets him share her lunch and the baby in the pram has no choice but to let him lick his ice cream. Each time a treat is consumed the text gives a wonderful set of words designed to get the kids listening. They will  join in with the noisy onomatopoeic words, that display eating with gusto: for example, crunchy munchy, slirpity licket slurp as well as  those words that emulate a dog’s voice and what it means.

The clip clop lady always leaves out a bowl of treats for Toodle, but today the bowl is empty.  She gets herself through the cat door and hears hissing from the cat, horrified that a dog is in the house. But fearless Toodle soldiers on and finds the clippy cloppy lady on the floor. She has fallen over and cannot get up. But what can Toodle do?

This charming story will delight young readers as they will all know a dog as hungry as Toodle, and as fearless and helpful. They will have fun predicting how Toodle will be able to save the clip clop lady and cheer when all is resolved. This warm hearted story will reinforce the idea of neighbourhood and community, where everyone knows the local dog and the children and help each other.

Lovely illustrations add to the warm hearted feeling of the text, with Toodle’s big brown eyes staring out at the reader. Lots of movement is shown as Toodle jumps around, making sure he grazes at his many food stops.

The feeling of community sings through the story with people aware of the neighbourhood dog and giving her treats, while the incident of the fall, reinforces the notion of responsibility amongst neighbours and friends.  The curly poodle hair is very real, contrasting with the fur of the coat. There are many details young readers will love finding on each page adding to the fun of Toodle’s rescue plan.

This book could be a stepping stone to talking about their older relatives and falls and how to keep them safe, as well as first aid and ambulances.

Themes: Dogs, Ambulance, Accidents, Neighbourhood, Networking, Family, Community, Responsibility.

Fran Knight