Puppy Academy: Scout and the Sausage Thief

Puppy Academy #1

by Gill Lewis, Sarah Horne (Illustrator)

Puppies to the rescue! From animal expert Gill Lewis, Puppy Academy is a fun new series introducing young readers to a team of plucky, irresistible puppies, learning their jobs as working dogs. A must for animal-loving boys and girls aged six to eight years. Scout is excited about the day ahead at the Sausage Dreams Puppy Academy - because today she's taking her Care in the Community test, an important step on her way to achieving her dream of becoming a police dog. But a good deed goes wrong and suddenly Scout is left on her own while her friends take the tests to get their badges. Can Scout put things right and make up for her mistakes? And then there's the mysterious sausage thief who's at large in Little Barking - if only Scout could find a way of catching him...

Genres: Childrens, Humor, Fiction, Chapter Books, Animals, Dogs

128 pages, ebook

First published July 2, 2015

About the author

Before she could walk, Gill Lewis was discovered force-feeding bread to a sick hedgehog under the rose bushes. Now her stories reflect her passion for wild animals in wild places. She draws inspiration from many of the people she has had the fortune to meet during her work as a vet, both at home and abroad. Gill Lewis has a masters degree in Writing for Young People from Bath Spa University and won the 2009 course prize for most promising writer. Her first novel was snapped up for publication within hours of being offered to publishers. She lives in Somerset with her young family and a motley crew of pets. She writes from a shed in the garden, in the company of spiders.

Reviews

[Mehsi · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. This was a fun book. About puppies going to school, and bigger dogs doing real jobs. About crimes happening, and much more!

Scout was a really interesting character, and I loved her from the start. How she would pick being late, and look all dirty, just to make a little girl happy. Aww! Plus she really does try her best, and she has a heart in the right place.

Though I didn't like how the dogs treated Scout. They wouldn't listen to her, nor would they believe her. And you guys are supposed to be the top dogs? Wow. Poor Scout, I just felt sorry for her. :(

I do have questions about how the world works. So dogs and humans work together? There is a school for puppies? Do the dogs and other pets stay with humans, or do they live on their own? How do the humans know what the dogs are doing? And several other questions. It was all quite unclear.

The sausage thief part was fun though. :P And I also liked how it was solved in the end. Of course I won't spoil anything, but I think it was done well. Of course, I knew from the start who would be the one to unmask/find the thief, it is easy to figure that one out.

Wonderful illustrations by Sarah Horne! I didn't even notice that part until I got home. I was like, ohhh this looks like Sarah Horne's illustrations. *searches*Ohhh it is! *cheers*

All in all, a delightful little book, and I would have rated it higher if there was more explanation on the world and how it works.

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com

[Clare O'Beara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun book with illustrations for young kids, about a police dog puppy working her way through a puppy training school. Her big ambition is to arrest Frank Furter the notorious sausage thief.

I like a lot of the detail but not the way that pups are roaming the streets loose. I suppose there was no other way for the author to show this adventure, but wandering dogs get hit by cars, cause accidents and other problems. Here in Ireland it's illegal to let a dog roam.

I enjoy the photos of real police dogs at the end of the book, and descriptions of their work. There are plenty of other kinds of dog at the academy and plenty of other working breeds so this series has great potential.

[Lisa Cobb Sabatini · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won Scout and the Sausage Thief: A Puppy Academy book by Gill Lewis from Good reads.

Children will enjoy reading this adventure from a puppy's point of view in Gill Lewis's chapter book for beginning readers, Scout and the Sausage Thief. Young readers will identify with Scout as her struggles to do the right thing are met with unhappy consequences. Will Scout's dream of becoming a police dog be lost when she is accused of being a thief.
Scout and Sausage Thief is perfect for adults to read aloud to children, and it is an engaging story for beginning readers.

[Ivana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nádherná vtipná knižka pre deti o šteniatkach, ktoré sa chcú stať pracovnými psami. V prvej časti sa stretávame s vlčiačicou Stopou, ktorá sa chce stať policajným psom. Samozrejme, nič nie je také jednoduché, ako to vyzerá. V okolí vyčíňa klobáskový lupič a niekto Stope spod nosa ukradne dobroty určené všetkým šteniatkam. Napraví si reputáciu a získa Odznak pomoci, ktorý potrebuje, aby dosiahla svoj sen?
Čarovné ilustrácie, výborné postavy.
Už aj v slovenčine :-)

[Harvey Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

1 would give this infinity stars!

[Andrew Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

As reflected in 'Sky Dancer' and 'Gorilla Dawn', Gill Lewis' love of animals is something very many children will share, effectively bridging age, gender and cultural divides and providing an engaging theme that could inspire learning across a whole range of subjects. Lewis' Puppy Academy series are aimed at younger readers (Year 2 or 3), each one telling the tale of a different young canine pupil at an academy training for a professional role as a working dog assisting humans. Scout is a German shepherd who longs to one day become a police dog: however unfortunate circumstances beyond her control combine that result in her failing her 'Care to the Community' badge assessment at the academy - bringing feelings of guilt, shame and a desire to escape and be alone. However, events take a turn for the better when this results in Scout both unearthing a master villain sausage thief, and assisting a headteacher at the local primary school, bringing redemption with the academy teachers and her fellow pupils. Alongside key messages epitomised in Scout about always trying your best and revising life goals rather than simply giving up, there are deeper messages in some of Lewis' other canine characters: the academy teacher and fellow pupils all make rather cowardly assumptions of Scout's dishonesty when presented with a scenario of theft, and have to learn an attritional life lesson about jumping on social bandwagons. Sarah Horne's bone-theme illustrations are fun and distinctive in bringing characters to life, however my favourite part of the book follows the end of the actual story, where Lewis includes some non-fiction double-spreads about Leo, a genuine police dog, and Zak, her own pet German shepherd when she was 14 years old. A host of useful facts are presented in a very contrasting layout to the preceding fictional text, and there are even follow-up links provided to the Sniffer Dogs UK and International (SNUKI) website to learn more. This would be a wonderful opportunity for KS1 children to meet with real police officers, remove some stereotypical misconceptions and discover the life-changing and life-saving work they - and their animals - do. If much juvenile crime stems from a lack of understanding or empathy for the role our emergency services perform, giving younger children the opportunity to embrace it in a positive light could help the whole community find a safer and more sociable future.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

German shepherd Scout is excited to get her badge and head on her way to become a police dog like her parents, but things don't go well on the day of the test. Not only does she arrive late and bedraggled because she stops to help a child recover a lost toy, but she is distracted and fails the test. Then, after being tasked with guarding the food rewards for the other puppies, she is surprised to find that the food has all disappeared. What's a puppy to do? Using her intelligence and keen observation, Scout solves the mystery and gets back on the road to success. Animal lovers will enjoy this title with its adorable illustrations depicting the puppies and their parents. It will come as no surprise to learn that the author herself loves German shepherds, and readers will find photographs of Zak, a working shepherd, and Leo, the author's dog, in the back matter. The idea of an academy where puppies can learn what to do and get ready for their future jobs is a nifty one, and the series should be popular with young readers who just can't get enough of the dogs in their lives.

[Tarsila Krüse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scout and the Sausage Thief is a short book featuring a cast of very special pups (that go to school!) and live amongst some humans. Its main character is Scout, a German Shepard pup who wants very badly to become a police dog but on the day she’s due to take a test to get her Badge for helping the community, things seems to take an unexpected turn… on top of everything there’s a sausage thief on the lose!

We heard this as an audiobook (by the way with an incredible narration job by Stig Wemyss) and it had the perfect balance of relating to a child’s world, a bit of mystery, unexpected turns, some agonising bits in the middle, and thankfully, a comforting resolution.

At the end of the book there was information about a real life police dog and a couple of fun facts about them too, which was absolutely lovely.

Highly recommended for ages 6-8

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hoped my six/seven-year-old would read this herself, but she was too desperate to find out what happened as soon as she met the characters and so made me read it to her instead. It was a simple, daft story and my daughter loved it. Have bought the next book in the series in the hope she'll attempt it on her own.

[Sheri S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this with my second grader and it was a fairly entertaining book. The book revolves around a mystery and teaches good lessons about honesty and friendship. I enjoyed the mild twist in the plot as well as the positive ending. The illustrations are in black and white and are fairly simple.

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Truly adorable! “She knew humans didn’t understand woofs and barks, so she just wagged her tail instead.”

Absolutely adore the fact that this book ends with information about a real-life police tracker dog!

[Elizabeth Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was good because Scout become a police dog.

[Seawood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review to follow

[Ms Doxey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for year 2+. Good morals, just a nice book (especially for dog lovers!)

[Efox · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is actually the first book in the series, but we read it third (Pip and the Paw of Friendship and Star on Stormy Mountain being the first two) and it totally worked! This story was super cute, just like the rest of the series, and focuses on Scout who wants to become a police dog and catch the sausage thief. She has some set backs - like the other pups in this series - and it looks like she won't get to become a police dog - but it ultimately works out. There was a good lesson in this one about listening to people and being innocent until proven guilty - but I think it was a little lost on my young listeners. That said they both mostly listened (again knock down on not having a picture on every page for the 3 year old) and enjoyed.

[Tina M · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5. Some dogs were not nice and did not believe Scout. Scout was very sad but able to catch the sausage thief.

[Agnese · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sirsnīgs un ar humora devu apveltīts stāsts.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

My daughter liked the part where all the friends said sorry and they ate crunchie munchies.

[David Toback · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the behest of my daughter Joanna we are reading this series together. So far we are enjoying both the stories and learning about the real life dogs that inspired them.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable beginning chapter book series for the mystery and pet loving young reader. In this series title Scout the developing police dog wants to solve the case of the sausage thief with her police parents. Scout is still in training and needs to prove to others her good character in order to receive her "care in the community" badge along the way. The plot line is well paced and the story features lots of opportunities on the importance of good character and not being to quick to judge another.

[Bethe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute and fun easy chapter book mystery with abundant kid appeal with the puppy photo on the cover and the drawings in each chapter. Back matter includes info on the breed of the main chapter breed. Can't wait to get this into the hands of my students.

[Gretchen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scout and the Sausage Thief, a fun story for young readers, teaches children the value of education, goal setting, compassion, and family support. All of this was wrapped up in the one day of Scout at the puppy academy. The pictures and dog descriptions are helpful for explaining dog breeds and traits.
Thank you, Ms. Lewis, for an entertaining easy to read tale.
I received this book through goodreads.

[Harvey Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was pip and the paw of friendship but that's not on goodreads x