The Werepuppy on Holiday

The Werepuppy #2

by Jacqueline Wilson

'He can't help being a bit wild, Mum. He's not like other dogs.' A scary werewolf video leaves Micky terrified of dogs and Mum decides the only answer is to get Micky a puppy of his own. But when they go to the kennels to choose a puppy, Micky doesn't pick the smallest, the cutest, or the quietest dog...but for some strange reason is drawn to Wolfie - who turns out to be a werepuppy! Wolfie turns out to be LOTS of fun and also lots of mischief! So when Micky's family decide to go on holiday, Wolfie is banned from going. Micky is distraught. What fun is a holiday without Wolfie?

Genres: Childrens, Fiction

Paperback

First published October 3, 1995

About the author

Jacqueline Wilson was born in Bath in 1945, but spent most of her childhood in Kingston-on-Thames. She always wanted to be a writer and wrote her first ‘novel’ when she was nine, filling in countless Woolworths’ exercise books as she grew up. As a teenager she started work for a magazine publishing company and then went on to work as a journalist on Jackie magazine (which she was told was named after her!) before turning to writing novels full-time.

One of Jacqueline’s most successful and enduring creations has been the famous Tracy Beaker, who first appeared in 1991 in The Story of Tracy Beaker. This was also the first of her books to be illustrated by Nick Sharratt. Since then Jacqueline has been on countless awards shortlists and has gone on to win many awards. The Illustrated Mum won the Guardian Children’s Fiction Award, the 1999 Children’s Book of the Year at the British Book Awards and was also shortlisted for the 1999 Whitbread Children’s Book Award.

Double Act won the prestigious Smarties Medal and the Children’s Book Award as well as being highly commended for the Carnegie Medal. The Story of Tracy Beaker won the 2002 Blue Peter People’s Choice Award.

Jacqueline is one of the nation’s favourite authors, and her books are loved and cherished by young readers not only in the UK but all over the world. She has sold millions of books and in the UK alone the total now stands at over 35 million!

In 2002 Jacqueline was awarded the OBE for services to literacy in schools and from 2005 to 2007 she was the Children’s Laureate. In 2008 she became Dame Jacqueline Wilson.

Reviews

[Charlotte Stevens · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story begins with Micky, a young boy on his last day at school before the summer holidays. As his family are struggling with money Micky is staying at home this year which he doesn't seem too peeved about as he will be spending time with his puppy Wolfie, who is no ordinary dog but a baby werewolf! It is clear from the outset that this little puppy causes a lot of mischief which we see just a few pages in when he scares the school bullies away. Micky's dad comes home from work with great news, that he will be getting a pay rise meaning the family are able to go on holiday after all. Unfortunately this is bad news for poor Wolfie who has to be put in the kennels for a week. Micky is very upset about this and is noticeably sad on the journey there. However, the first night in the hotel howling is heard outside, Micky sneaks out and opens the front door and low and behold Wolfie is there, following Micky's trail of toffees with his excellent sense of smell. Throughout the holiday Micky hides Wolfie but gradually each member of the family realise the werepuppy is there as he gets up to more and more mischief. It is not until the end of the holiday dad finds out but he is happy to see Wolfie as he felt guilty for putting him in the kennels. The story ends with Micky and Wolfie winning the obedience act show at the pier but with Micky being the 'obedient' dog and Wolfie in charge.
I found that this book was enjoyable. Wolfie is a mischievous little puppy who is humorous throughout the story and the dynamics of the large family create some funny situations. However I did find that there could have been more to the story. There wasn't much action happening and there wasn't much of a climax.
The story relates to the familiar, dealing with situations which many children reading the book can relate to. School life, family life, friendships are all explored and I am sure many children will see similarities to Micky's story (such as annoying siblings and parents who do not understand). Themes of bullying are explored (Darren in Micky's class calling him names, the group schoolboys who tease his older sister and the rocker boys at the boot sale on holiday) and love which Micky shows towards his puppy and his grandma Boot in particular.
I would suggest that this book would be useful for children ages 7-12 for independent reading. There are some illustrations throughout the book which would help them to picture what is happening and to help break up the constant flow of reading by encouraging visionary skills as well. There is also a variation of language used in the book which would enhance their vocabulary. All in all I believe this book would be very entertaining for children to read.

[Celia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy this book very much and I can't wait to carry on reading!
I'm loving this book more by the minute!
Although I haven't read many pages, there are lots of writing on one page, so... Also, there are 96 pages altogether in this book. Managed to squeeze reading in quickly and I liked this book very much!

[Carrieann Edward-Okosun]

It's about a boy who has a werepuppy and the boy's family were meant to go on holiday...

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book,
It is quick to read this book and ideally for children who have started to read by themselves.

[Halle A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably biased as this was my favourite book as a kid but til this day it’s such a good book

[surge99 · Rating 3 out of 5]

what I liked about this book is that it shows how affectionate people can be towards their pets. It's good because it uses clear imagery.

it uses descriptive text and it has a mix of simple sentences and complex sentences.I would recommend this book to someone who has a sense of humour and a pet.



WELL DONE JACQUELINE WILSON, THE FIRST GOOD BOOK YOU EVER WROTE !!!!!!

[Ana · Rating 3 out of 5]

sebenernya udah mulai baca buku ini sejak lama, tapi stuck di halaman2 terakhir karena tergoda sama buku yang lain.. BTW ini adalah seri jacqueline wilson yang lain yang baru pertama kali aku baca. biasanya aku baca yang ada ilustrasi dari Sharrat2 itu (lupa namanya). Well, bagus sih.. tapi ngga seseru biasanya (mungkin karena aku baca versi inggrisnya jadi rada2 ngga mudeng).

[Zoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book ever made