Bertie Was a Watchdog - Softcover

Walton, Rick

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0744580188 ISBN 13: 9780744580181

Publisher: Walker Childrens Paperbacks, 2003

Synopsis

Bertie was a watchdog. He was just a very small one. But size isn't everything as one big and nasty burglar finds out in this knockabout comedy celebrating the triumph of the underdog! Illustrated with waggish humour by Arthur Robins, famous for his Seriously Silly Stories, this hilarious picture book is long in more ways than one! Printed in an unusual format, with fifty-six pages rather than the usual thirty-two, it'll keep children and their parents laughing looong after they've put it down!

About this title

About the Author

Rick Walton is a former teacher. He speaks Portuguese and Spanish, has travelled throughout North and South America, and now lives in Brazil. He says of Bertie Was a Watchdog, "I like stories where things are not as they seem. A watchdog is usually big and mean. I thought it would be fun to write a story about a watchdog who you discover is not big and mean - who protects not with his bark or bite, but with his brain." Arthur Robins has worked as a freelance designer in the advertising industry, and as an illustrator for various magazines. His work has been exhibited in both London and New York. He has also illustrated numerous picture books and fiction titles for children, including The Magic Bicycle; Little Rabbit Foo Foo; The Teeny Tiny Woman; Mission Ziffoid; The Finger-eater; The Polecat Cafe; The Magic Boathouse; Impossible Parents; The Impossible Parents Go Green; and The Last Chocolate Biscuit.

From Publishers Weekly

When first seen against a receding cityscape, Bertie the watchdog appears to possess all the looming menace of a modern-day Cerberus. But as Walton (Bunny Day) dryly explains, Bertie was called a watchdog because he was about the size of a watch. Robins (The Teeny Tiny Woman) cheekily reveals that when Bertie is rendered from a less distorted perspective, he's not even pint-sized. What chance does a diminutive dog have against a giant intruder? But when a burly burglar invades his territory, Bertie challenges him to a test of wits. In Robins's gleefully garish, full-bleed watercolor-and-ink cartoons, the robber takes up most of the succeeding spreads even his sausage-like nose is bigger than Bertie. But the canine prevails by conning the ne'er-do-well into a series of contests, the last of which determines who can bark the loudest. The robber's winning ruckus captures the attention of a couple of cops on a fast-food break. I win! is the parting riposte of the triumphant Bertie, now the proud owner of an oversize hero's medal. Youngsters will be won over as well both by the pooch's brainy pluck and the reassuring moral that right can triumph over might. Ages 4-7.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Walker Childrens Paperbacks
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0744580188
• ISBN 13: 9780744580181
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 56