Scruff: Alice Bowsher

"A charmingly funny and unique picture book story that is sure to charm dog-mad little ones and their parents."--Midwest Book Reviews

"This super fun, bold and scribbly book about dogs and their owners is a lovely one for young ones and even older babies who will like the bold lines and contrast of the drawings."--BookTrust

"This dual benefit of friendship is lovely to witness: explaining to children that friends should be equal partners is an important message to come from this book."--The Value's Bookshelf

"Alice Bowsher’s bold, free line work is pleasingly spontaneous looking, and her simple characters have life and verve (especially the dogs)." --The AOI

"Nourishing and hilarious twenty minutes."--School Reading List

What came first―dogs that look like their owners or owners that look like their dogs?

I wanted a dog . . . This one was perfect! Nobody wanted him because he looked scruffy . . . but I’m a scruffy guy so that suited me just fine. After picking out the scruffiest dog at the pound, the narrator is surprised to find that Scruff isn’t what he initially seemed. He doesn’t want to catch sticks or roll in the mud or swim in the pond. What could be the problem? It turns out that Scruff just loves being pampered! So the narrator goes along with it. They wash, brush, trim, and polish together, until they are anything but scruffy! In their newly groomed state, they go to the dog show, but have they done enough to win? A funny story that is sure to charm dog-mad little ones and their parents.

Alice Bowsher is an illustrator living and working in London. She has illustrated campaigns for Byron Burgers, Boden, and Camden Brewery. She is the author of Read All About It (Cicada, 2016) and the illustrator of Fly Flies (Cicada, 2019).