Robodog is more on the silly side of the Walliams book scale, but there are plenty of laughs for young readers. This would be a great read aloud for years 6 and up, and fine for readers 7+. There are words that will stretch vocabs but all age appropriate. This follows on from the success of Grandpa’s Great Escape, Awful Auntie, Demon Dentist, Ratburger and Gangsta Granny. All went straight to Children’s number one on release with Gangsta Granny and Billionaire Boy selling over a million copies to date. As well as being a No.1 best-selling Children’s author, David Walliams is one of Britain's most popular writers and comic actors. Unlike Dave Pilkey’s somewhat stupid Dog Man, Robodog is not only brave, strong intelligent, and capable of heroic deeds, he is also a very likeable character who cries tears of oil when sad and whose biggest dream is to be a real dog, loved by his human parents. Walliams succeeds in combining his self-confessed love for the canine world with an amusing adventure story for young readers. Ratty, the rat-mouse, also plays a monumental role in teaching Robodog, and thus also the readers, life skills and healthy perceptions, such as acceptance of those different from you and the value of friendship and loyalty. Hello Yellow - 80 Books to Help Children Nurture Good Mental Health and Support With Anxiety and Wellbeing -

As well as his Children’s fiction, David has also published four number one bestselling picture books, his latest, The Bear Who went Boo! was published in November 2015 and has had total sales of over 85,000 to date. The Queen’s Orang-utan, David’s third picture book was written exclusively for Comic Relief with David giving all of his proceeds from the book to the charity. David has proved himself as a dramatic actor in BBC2's 'Capturing Mary' with Dame Maggie Smith, in BBC1's Agatha Christie series 'Partners In Crime', as Frankie Howerd in the biopic ‘Rather You Than Me’ for BBC4, and on the stage in Harold Pinter’s 'No Man’s Land' starring alongside Sir Michael Gambon. He received the Comedy Award at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards for his performance as Bottom in ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ directed by Michael Grandage. Bedlam, once a home to ordinary people, is now a city infested with rats and is as dangerous as it is filthy. It is ruled by the baddest of baddies and badly needs its own superhero to defeat these supervillains. These baddies include Velma, the chief and professor's cat; mighty mind, the master mind who is just a mega-brain floating in a fish bowl and is behind the notorious robberies in the city of Bedlam; and Hammerheads, mighty mind's henchperson who lost her hands and uses a hammer on each side as a replacement for her hands.

As a massive fan of David Walliams, I was excited to get my hands on this book. I had high hopes for this one but unfortunately, it didn’t quite meet my expectations. I have a few ideas on why this book didn’t work for me but it genuinely surprised me that I didn’t love this book. It was a really cute story, and the bad guys were really good at being bad like Velma. I thought Mighty Mind, Hammerhands, The Chocolatier, The Headmistress and The Politician were all great baddies. I loved that Plank was so silly, I think if Plank could get a medal for anything it would be for being silly.

The Police Chief needs a hero. Fortunately, she is married to a brilliant scientist-inventor, the Professor, whose speciality is actually washing machines, but she is able to use spare parts to build the ultimate crime fighter, called Robodog. This robotic hero has the strength of a German shepherd, can follow a scent like a bloodhound, barks louder than a spaniel, has the speed of a greyhound, the pride of a terrier, the bravery of a schnauzer and is as keen nosed as a beagle. Robodog by David Williams is the perfect book for every dog lover. I absolutely loved the illustrations by Adam Stower.Added to all this, David’s books have achieved unprecedented critical acclaim: Awful Auntie, Ratburger and Demon Dentist won the National Book Awards Children’s Book of the Year and in France David was awarded the popular Tamtam for Mr Stink and the prestigious Le Prix Du Livre De La Jeunesse for Ratburger, so it comes as no surprise that countless broadsheet reviewers have compared David to his all-time hero, Roald Dahl.

As a brand, The World of David Walliams continues to grow: export sales have increased by 77% year on year with growth in every single market and David’s books are published in over 49 languages. The city of Bedlam is desperate; the streets are rat-infested and filthy; the buildings dilapidated, and, worst of all, the inhabitants are ruled by super villains of the underworld. These thugs are captained by the dastardly duo, Mighty Mind, a giant criminal mega-brain living in a fishbowl on wheels, and his henchperson, Hammerhands, a terrifying woman with hammers instead of hands.

Hobbies

The Chief relies on the city Police Dog Training school to produce excellent crime-fighters to help her and her police force control the city’s baddies, but even this isn’t working any more. She needs MORE. What could possibly help the city of Bedlam? And then she gets an idea! Armistice Day: A Collection of Remembrance - Spark Interest and Educate Children about Historical Moments