Rosie and George live together. George makes breakfast for Rosie every morning and then they go for a walk. Rosie loves walking as sometimes she’s a little lonely at home and she loves chasing squirrels even though she never catches them.

But today George suggests doing something different. He’d like to go to the dog park. Rosie doesn’t think much of this idea. She doesn’t like the dog park. It’s full of too many strange dogs and they’re scary. While George sits and reads the paper, she meets Maurice who is very big and loud and keeps shaking his stuffed bunny, and Fifi who is very small and yappy. She doesn’t like either of them. But when Maurice thinks Fifi is just another stuffed bunny, somebody has to do something.

If you have a dog and you both go walking together, then you will love this book. You’ll be there with Rosie and understand how she thinks and acts especially when she’s scared. And you’ll relate to the other dogs with their different personalities all trying to get along in the dog park.

This celebrated author, Kate DiCamillo, has told this story perfectly, and Harry Bliss’s incredibly life-like illustrations speak to us, adding the small but important details that we might miss if we don’t take the time to linger on every page.

Reviewed by Merle Morcom
Age Guide 5+ or for every doggy person who has braved the dog park