Dad's Bug Bear

by Peter Dixon, Natalie Chivers (Illustrations)

Dad hates pets; in fact he hates animals, full stop! So a family trip to the zoo is definitely not his idea of fun. When they arrive, it’s a disaster! Two African elephants have broken down the walls and all the animals have escaped. Dad insists on rushing home to make sure no runaway animals go anywhere near their house. But when they get back, there is something very nasty and smelly on their doorstep . . . Could it be that they are already too late?

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[BrookesEducationLibrarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautifully illustrated picture book, the illustrations are a blend of what looks like newspaper clippings and coloured-in pencil drawings which creates an unusual but very interesting range of pictures to look at.

The story follows a young boy whose father doesn't like animals. When his pet fish dies, they take him on a special trip to the zoo - only to discover all the animals have escaped. Some of them have made their way over to the family's home, can they change dad's mind about animals after all?

We enjoyed reading this book, it reads almost like poetry in some sections and has a nice flow when read aloud, very enjoyable for young readers.

[Annalise - Teacher Training · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had a really nice storyline, it has a bit of humour to it which I enjoyed and children definitely would.
I found it really intersting how the illusrations are done - they almost look like they are made out of recycled objects like newspapers and different materials. for example, one of the dad's arms on the front cover is made out of newspaper and his other is some kind of striped material.
I also liked the layout of the writing on the pages.

[Loren Carter-Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny book that children would laugh about. Great illustrations and good for animal lovers.