I do love discovering children’s books from smaller publishers as often they have a freshness to them that makes them stand out from the crowd, and that seems to be the case with Dog on Stilts.
Medium Dog is, well, ordinary. All the other dogs that he encounters seem much more interesting than he is, and that’s making him a bit glum. Then, he comes up with a way to stand out from the crowd. Literally!
The premise for the Dog on Stilts story is just bonkers – after all, as my four year old pointed out, dog’s can’t walk on stilts – but it made both my kids laugh like absolute drains when I read it to them. Yes, there’s a serious message at the end about how being ordinary is special in itself and how friends love each other just the way they are, but it was the comedy side of things that they loved the most.
The brains behind Dog on Stilts are James Thorp and Angus Mackinnon, but as if writing a wonderful children’s book wasn’t enough to keep them out of mischief this duo, who are also known as the Superhairies, have found time to produce Dog on Stilts The Musical! If you though the book was bonkers then this will take you to a whole new level of zany bonkers-ness and it’s a wonderful online accompaniment to the book.
Dog on Stilts has become a firm favourite in our house, especially with two year old Master C who seems to be mesmerised by the pop style artwork in the book. I found him sat on the floor in his sister’s room earlier today completely absorbed in the book and talking to the pictures of Medium Dog. Any book that can hold the attention of a two year old boy who spends most of his time running round like a lunatic has to be a good one in my eyes.
Disclaimer: We were sent a copy of Dog on Stilts for the purposes of this review. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links.
Oh bless him! I can just picture that scene now – so cute 🙂