Funny Little Dog by Kyle Mewburn

It's not midnight yet.  Yay!  =]

This week (ok, this afternoon...it's been a loooong week!) I read an adorable book called Funny Little Dog by Kyle Mewburn.  It's part of the Pop Hooper's Perfect Pets series and it was a wonderfully fun, quick read.

From the back of the book:  Flyn's idea of a perfect pet is a fierce guard dog.  He would call the dog Chomper, and use him to scare off the bullies.  But all Pop Hopper has to offer is a silly, round lapdog called Pumpkin.  There's no way Pumpkin could protect Flyn...is there?

From Kyle Mewburn's website  When I was growing up, my favourite pet was a dragon. Nobody would annoy me if I had a dragon! It could toast my bread in the morning, and roast marshmallows, too. Unfortunately, I never got a dragon. But in my new series - Pop Hooper's Perfect Pets, kids always get their perfect pet ... in the end. I haven't written a story with a dragon yet, but so far there's a cat, a dog, a turtle and a pony. 

From Heather  I've gotta say this was a charming book!  Flyn is getting bullied by Toby Downer and his gang.  He wishes he had a big, mean dog named Chomper to scare the bullies away and make him feel brave.  As he is running away from Toby, he meets Pop Hooper, who guarantees a Perfect Pet.  He doesn't have a dog like Flyn imagines, but suggests Flyn take Pumpkin home for the night to see if he can be responsible and take care of a dog.

It's one adventure after another all night, each reinforcing that Flyn is brave enough on his own.  As he takes care of Pumpkin, he does things that are hard for him, but he is so focused on helping Pumpkin that he forgets that it's hard.

I love stories like this.  I can tell my kids over and over and over that they are good and brave and that they can do hard things.  But it's different when they read about other kids doing hard things and surviving.  It was a wonderful, easy read, a little younger than middle grade.  

Heath McKenzie's illustrations are absolutely adorable, and liberally scattered throughout the book.  I think I will try to find some of Kyle Mewburn's other books...this one was great!

I give it 4 1/2 stars.