Mini-Reviews: McTavish the Dog
When I have the choice between reading another book or reviewing the one I have just read, I usually choose to read another one. As much as I adore shouting about books on my blog, reading is, after all, my first love!
Therefore, I have decided to do some mini-review posts to tell you about some other books which I have read and think you might enjoy.
This time, the mini-reviews are all themed around McTavish the Dog because he is just amazing and I read the whole series (so far!) in a day!
Good Dog Mc Tavish by Meg Rosoff and Grace Easton
The Peachey family is in crisis. No one cooks dinner, no one picks up the dirty washing and the kids are always late for school. All because Mum has resigned from being Mum and taken up yoga instead. She’s in the tree pose; everyone else is in the doghouse. Except McTavish, a rescue dog with a difference, on a mission to sort his new family out…Filled to the brim with Meg’s wry humour and beautiful prose, this is a story for the young and the young at heart.
This book is pitch perfect!
One day, Ma Peachey decides to quite her job as mum because she’s tired of picking up after everyone and never getting any thanks. This leaves her husband and three children to fend for themselves…and they don’t handle it well.
Ava spends her time reading philosophy, Ollie looking for a girlfriend and Pa Peachey seems to swing between losing his keys and being jealous of his wife’s young, fit yoga instructor. The youngest child, a nine-year-old girl called Betty decides to take matters into her own hands and adopt a dog. Luckily, she meets McTavish, a very unusual dog who knows just what to do to whip his adoptive family into shape.
This is a witty, humorous story about family and it is sure to be a hit with any animal-loving readers aged 6+!
McTavish Goes Wild
It’s summer and the Peachey family is in crisis – again. Youngest child Betty Peachey is trying to persuade the family to go to the Faraway Campsite of Ma Peachey’s idyllic dreams. But most of the Peacheys are still resisting. Pa Peachey is convinced that terrible dangers lurk in the `wild’, Ollie only cares about whether there’s a `disco’, and Ava has her nose deep in philosophy books…But marvellous McTavish, always one step ahead of the Peacheys, quietly works out a way to get the family enjoying their holiday, together.
McTavish is back and nobody could be happier than this reader – this series is a real winner! Warm, realistic family interactions, a dog who is smarter than (most of) his owners and a warm, upliftng feeling at the end of each book.Not to mention that the font is dyslexia-friendly and the pages are laid-out in an accessible, inviting way. I am delighted to add this to our school library!
In this story the Peachey family decide to go on holiday – bot no destination seems to suit every family member so they end up going camping. At first, it is great as the sun is shining and everything is a novelty, but the novelty soon starts to wear off when it pours for an entire day and everyone becomes soggy and uncomfortable.
McTavish to the rescue again, as he pretends to run away, leading the Peachey family on a merry chase up a mountain and into a lake for a swim, leading them to forget entirely that they were intent on packing up and going home!
I liked how mum is more present in this book and that she seems perfectly aware of just how manipulative their family dog is being.
Perfect for dog-lovers or for anyone who fancies adding a bright spot to their day!
McTavish Takes the Biscuit
When Pa Peachey decides to enter the town bake-off competition, his grand plans turn out to be far more impressive than his baking skills. As Pa’s ambitions start to crumble, rescue dog McTavish smells disaster in the making. Can he find a way to save the Peachey family from disaster yet again?
Oh McTavish I love you – I want my own McTavish now and I dare anyone reading this not to feel the same!
McTavish and the Peachey family are back in this third installment in the series and McTavish is cleverer than ever.
Pa Peachey has decided to take up a new hobby – baking. Unfortunately, despite most people getting better with practice, Pa Peachey seems to get worse. Poor Betty and McTavish start to get a bit rotund after polishing off all his failed attempts at masterpieces, so decide to start taking longer walks to stay fit.
Taking turns to cook meals, which the family became so good at in the first book, turns into a sandwich station because Pa Peachey turns the kitchen into a disaster zone. Just when it seems like he might give up and try a new hobby, it is announced that there will be a ‘bake-off’ competition in their local fair.
Cue many disasters, the day being saved by McTavish and other members of the family realising just how lucky they are to have this dog in their lives!
Lovely, warm, middle-grade which I cannot wait to introduce to my class!
Have you read any of these books?
Would you like to read any of them after reading this post?
Could you recommend any other books featuring clever dogs?
What are you reading at the moment?
Check out some more mini-reviews themed around Girls in Politics, the Sea or Mermaids.
While you’re here, why not check out my reviews of No Ballet Shoes in Syria, The Wise and The Wicked, The Day War Came, The Burning, Perfectly Preventable Deaths, Herstory or Power to the Princess?
Chrikaru Reads 