Truman the Dog

By David Roberts and Melanie Demmer

T is for Truman, tricks, and TROUBLE! Truman the black lab might be an older rescue dog, but he's still got enough mischief beneath his collar to keep eight-year-old Kaita Takano and her animal-fostering family on their toes from morning till night. Chewed through and through, the playfully illustrated, Kaita-narrated chapter book promises plenty of canine fun.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Capstone Young Readers
• Release date: Aug 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781515848912

David Roberts

David Roberts is a hugely talented and versatile artist and author. David began his career in fashion illustration, and his sharp eye for form and composition is showcased beautifully in his books with Andrea Beaty, which include Ada Twist, Scientist and Iggy Peck, Architect. His work ranges from feisty retellings of fairy tales created in collaboration with his sister, Lyn (Little Red, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel), to his brilliantly funny books with Julia Donaldson such as Tyrannosaurus Drip, The Troll and The Cook and the King. In 2006 he won the Nestlé Children’s Book Prize Gold Award for his line drawings in Mouse Noses On Toast, and Little Red was shortlisted for the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal. David’s sense of humour shines through in all his work, but especially his illustrations for The Bolds series by Julian Clary and the madcap Dirty Bertie books. Suffragette: The Battle for Equality was David’s first self-authored book and is an exquisitely illustrated history of the women’s suffrage movement, which has been a passion of David’s since his school days.

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

A Special Phone Call

I held a dog treat in my hand. Ollie, sit! I said.

My happy dog wagged his tail and sat down.

Good boy! I said. I tossed the treat in the air. Ollie caught it in his mouth. He crunched and crunched, then he sniffed the floor for crumbs. He didn’t want to miss one.

I think you got them all, Ollie! I said, giggling.

Kaita! I’m home! a voice called. It was my mom.

Ollie and I ran to the kitchen. The tags on his collar jingled like little bells.

Mom had a pile of books on the table. She works at a bookstore. I love it because she gets me books about animals. When I grow up, I want to be a veterinarian. I’m going to be the best animal doctor ever!

"Are those books for me?" I asked.

Yes, she said. "There’s a book about cats, a book about birds, a book about dogs, and a book just about dachshunds, like our Ollie." She slid the books in front of me.

picture

I gave her a big smile. Oh, thank you, Mom!

Yip! Yip! Yip! Ollie barked and ran to the back door.

That must be Dad! I said, running after Ollie.

Yip! Yip! Yip!

Dad walked in, bent down, and patted Ollie’s head. He got hugs from Mom and me.

Coming home to my family is my favorite thing, Dad said. Hey, I have some good news!

"What is