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Stick and Fetch Adventures #1
Barking Up the Wrong Tree: Stick and Fetch Investigate: 1
Sally loves nothing more than investigating a good mystery - and her shaggy canine companion Fetch loves nothing more than to be at her side when she does. There's just one small problem: they always gets the wrong end of the stick!
The hapless pair remain undeterred, however, dashing from one crime scene to another on their bicycle, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake ... yet always emerging blissfully unaware.
A fun, madcap trio of stories featuring two loveable heroes with a LOT of hair.
The hapless pair remain undeterred, however, dashing from one crime scene to another on their bicycle, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake ... yet always emerging blissfully unaware.
A fun, madcap trio of stories featuring two loveable heroes with a LOT of hair.
Audio CD
Published March 1, 2018
20 people want to read
About the author
Philip Ardagh
169 books175 followersOver six-and-a-half feet tall, with a bushy beard, Philip Ardagh is not only very big but also very hairy. He is the author of the Eddie Dickens Trilogy and when not writing silly books, Mr. Ardagh is quite serious and frowns a great deal. He lives in a seaside town somewhere in England with his wife and their son, Fred.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 13, 2018
Book Reviewed by Stacey on www.whisperingstories.com
Sally Stick lives with her Grandmother and dog Fetch. She has decided that she wants to be a detective, so together with her dog (who can speak to Sally), the pair set up ‘Stick & Fetch Investigations’.
Throughout the book the pair work on three cases:-
– Telly Trouble
– No Clowning Around
– Up Up and Away
However, Sally has a knack for getting the wrong end of the stick, leading to lots of mayhem and comical moments in their investigations.
‘Barking Up The Wrong Tree’, is the first book, in what looks like is going to be a new detective series by renowned children’s author, Philip Ardagh, following the two best friends as they solve mysteries that weren’t really mysteries.
The book itself is quite small in height, 18cm, which is a perfect size for young children. Inside there are three separate stories, each revolving around a different case. Being a ‘detective’ book, there are plenty of words that children might never of heard of before within the text. These are not only explained, ‘Arch-Nemesis – worst enemy’, but they are also written in a different font too.
Nearly each page has illustrations adorning them. They are all black, white, grey and yellow, making them stand out, and bring the story to life.
This is a book that engages the reader and takes them on a laugh-out-loud adventure. It is filled with plenty of slapstick humour and is entertaining from beginning to end. Perfect for children just learning to read, and those wanting a brilliant story to keep them amused.
Sally Stick lives with her Grandmother and dog Fetch. She has decided that she wants to be a detective, so together with her dog (who can speak to Sally), the pair set up ‘Stick & Fetch Investigations’.
Throughout the book the pair work on three cases:-
– Telly Trouble
– No Clowning Around
– Up Up and Away
However, Sally has a knack for getting the wrong end of the stick, leading to lots of mayhem and comical moments in their investigations.
‘Barking Up The Wrong Tree’, is the first book, in what looks like is going to be a new detective series by renowned children’s author, Philip Ardagh, following the two best friends as they solve mysteries that weren’t really mysteries.
The book itself is quite small in height, 18cm, which is a perfect size for young children. Inside there are three separate stories, each revolving around a different case. Being a ‘detective’ book, there are plenty of words that children might never of heard of before within the text. These are not only explained, ‘Arch-Nemesis – worst enemy’, but they are also written in a different font too.
Nearly each page has illustrations adorning them. They are all black, white, grey and yellow, making them stand out, and bring the story to life.
This is a book that engages the reader and takes them on a laugh-out-loud adventure. It is filled with plenty of slapstick humour and is entertaining from beginning to end. Perfect for children just learning to read, and those wanting a brilliant story to keep them amused.
March 14, 2018
Smart and silly 'wrong end of the stick' detective stories for kids
My 7 year old says he enjoyed this, but I got the feeling he didn't actually appreciate why each of these tales were so funny. Each detective case that Sally and her dog 'solve' is actually not a case at all, but a series of misunderstandings and farcical coincidences that lead the pair into 'another fine mess' time and again.
I think it was a little beyond my son, for now. To explain the humour would be to defeat the purpose. You either understand this or you don't. I thought it was very funny.
Sally Stick and her faithful friend and detective partner Fetch are a play on words themselves, and both educate readers with their detective terminology and delight in a little light wordplay as they 'solve' such dire plots as the 'case of the stolen '80' balloon'.
With limited-palette illustrations, and Ardagh's trademark humour, this three-part book makes an enjyable bedtime read over a few nights, being an easy-enough read for independent readers, and containing enough familiar detective genre conventions to amuse an adult reader.
This will make a great series, the pair work together well as two complementary 'types'. The age range for this would be around 8-11 to fully appreciate the humour.
With thanks to Walker Books for the sample reading copy, provided for an honest review.
My 7 year old says he enjoyed this, but I got the feeling he didn't actually appreciate why each of these tales were so funny. Each detective case that Sally and her dog 'solve' is actually not a case at all, but a series of misunderstandings and farcical coincidences that lead the pair into 'another fine mess' time and again.
I think it was a little beyond my son, for now. To explain the humour would be to defeat the purpose. You either understand this or you don't. I thought it was very funny.
Sally Stick and her faithful friend and detective partner Fetch are a play on words themselves, and both educate readers with their detective terminology and delight in a little light wordplay as they 'solve' such dire plots as the 'case of the stolen '80' balloon'.
With limited-palette illustrations, and Ardagh's trademark humour, this three-part book makes an enjyable bedtime read over a few nights, being an easy-enough read for independent readers, and containing enough familiar detective genre conventions to amuse an adult reader.
This will make a great series, the pair work together well as two complementary 'types'. The age range for this would be around 8-11 to fully appreciate the humour.
With thanks to Walker Books for the sample reading copy, provided for an honest review.
March 7, 2018
A trio of truly delightful, funny and hairy little stories of Sally Stick and her best friend, and dog, Fetch. The two think themselves something of a pair of detectives, and set off on three adventures to solve a mystery. Okay, so maybe they're not REAL cases....but it's still ridiculous fun! And maybe they're not terribly good at solving the cases, but rather at getting the wrong end of the stick, but either way it's a giggle to read.
It's easy to see why this would become a firm favourite in any household with young readers, particularly animal lovers. Anything dog related is always a winner for us! But to add humour and fun into the mix makes it truly wonderful. The illustrations are great and dashed with vibrant yellow throughout - some of them are just as funny as the story in fact which is ideal for younger readers not yet tracking the story properly.
A trio of stories which will stay on the favourites shelf for young children demanding to hear about Stick & Fetch again every time reading time is mentioned.
Fair warning though, this perpetuates the "Can we get a dog, pleasssse?" conversations more than you could ever imagine!!
ARC provided free from the publishers in exchange for an honest review.
It's easy to see why this would become a firm favourite in any household with young readers, particularly animal lovers. Anything dog related is always a winner for us! But to add humour and fun into the mix makes it truly wonderful. The illustrations are great and dashed with vibrant yellow throughout - some of them are just as funny as the story in fact which is ideal for younger readers not yet tracking the story properly.
A trio of stories which will stay on the favourites shelf for young children demanding to hear about Stick & Fetch again every time reading time is mentioned.
Fair warning though, this perpetuates the "Can we get a dog, pleasssse?" conversations more than you could ever imagine!!
ARC provided free from the publishers in exchange for an honest review.
May 4, 2018
Stick and Fetch are on the case!
I just had to have this adorable looking book, I love detective books, especially the MG/YA variants. Now is this not like those books, as these cases are in Sally's head. Or well, she does do investigations, but the cases are all imaginary. Based on what Sally sees or hears or finds.
I was at first worried about the talking dog, Fetch, as I am not a big fan of non-magical books with talking animals. But I guess, given that no one else can hear Fetch, this is just like the cases these two solve. They are only in Sally's head. So I didn't mind it that much when I deducted that.
This book contains 3 cases, each will be investigated and solved by Stick and Fetch. The first case is about a lady who is about to explode (gasp), the second one about clowns and birthday parties and pictures, the third and last about an eighty year old balloon and an art robbery.
With every case I was surprised that Sally didn't think about the most logical things first but instead made the cases way bigger than they were. For instance in the first case she doesn't think that the lady may have a tv on in her home, instead she goes to the tv show. In the second one she immediately thinks there is a case when she sees an empty picture frame, and for some reason gets into clown business and birthday parties. In the last one she really thinks that just because a balloon has 80 on it, it is 80 years old. I get this is a kid, but there were just so many things that didn't match up. For instance I know that kids generally learn to write around the age of 3 to 5. Since Sally can't write for life, she must be younger than that, but then the problem arises on why she is allowed to go outside so far without any guidance. So she must be older, but yet, that also doesn't work out. I guess I shouldn't think about it and just go with the flow. :P
Even with the inconsistencies I had lots of fun reading this book, Stick/Sally was an adorable character and I really like how dedicated she is to solving these cases, even if they are only in her head. I had quite a laugh at how easily she forgot about what started the case. Like in the first one that she totally forgot about the woman's name when she finally meets her. I loved that she knew so much about being a detective. She knew all the terms and knew what to do when. I am sure that, when she is older and will do real cases, she will be awesome at them.
Fetch was a cute dog, a bit annoying due to the talking part. He really helps out with the imaginary cases by catching the crooks.
The art was just adorable, it was also one of the reasons why I got this book. I saw some pictures on Twitter and fell in love.
All in all, this was definitely very fun to read and I hope that there will be more Stick and Fetch books in the future. I would recommend this book, just be sure to not think too much about the things that don't match.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
I just had to have this adorable looking book, I love detective books, especially the MG/YA variants. Now is this not like those books, as these cases are in Sally's head. Or well, she does do investigations, but the cases are all imaginary. Based on what Sally sees or hears or finds.
I was at first worried about the talking dog, Fetch, as I am not a big fan of non-magical books with talking animals. But I guess, given that no one else can hear Fetch, this is just like the cases these two solve. They are only in Sally's head. So I didn't mind it that much when I deducted that.
This book contains 3 cases, each will be investigated and solved by Stick and Fetch. The first case is about a lady who is about to explode (gasp), the second one about clowns and birthday parties and pictures, the third and last about an eighty year old balloon and an art robbery.
With every case I was surprised that Sally didn't think about the most logical things first but instead made the cases way bigger than they were. For instance in the first case she doesn't think that the lady may have a tv on in her home, instead she goes to the tv show. In the second one she immediately thinks there is a case when she sees an empty picture frame, and for some reason gets into clown business and birthday parties. In the last one she really thinks that just because a balloon has 80 on it, it is 80 years old. I get this is a kid, but there were just so many things that didn't match up. For instance I know that kids generally learn to write around the age of 3 to 5. Since Sally can't write for life, she must be younger than that, but then the problem arises on why she is allowed to go outside so far without any guidance. So she must be older, but yet, that also doesn't work out. I guess I shouldn't think about it and just go with the flow. :P
Even with the inconsistencies I had lots of fun reading this book, Stick/Sally was an adorable character and I really like how dedicated she is to solving these cases, even if they are only in her head. I had quite a laugh at how easily she forgot about what started the case. Like in the first one that she totally forgot about the woman's name when she finally meets her. I loved that she knew so much about being a detective. She knew all the terms and knew what to do when. I am sure that, when she is older and will do real cases, she will be awesome at them.
Fetch was a cute dog, a bit annoying due to the talking part. He really helps out with the imaginary cases by catching the crooks.
The art was just adorable, it was also one of the reasons why I got this book. I saw some pictures on Twitter and fell in love.
All in all, this was definitely very fun to read and I hope that there will be more Stick and Fetch books in the future. I would recommend this book, just be sure to not think too much about the things that don't match.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
April 17, 2018
This is a such a great, funny and silly book, it really made me laugh. ‘Stick & Fetch Investigate: Barking Up the Wrong Tree’ is a small pocket sized book (A6ish in size) filled with three separate adventures of Stick & Fetch. The book has some nice thick matt pages and is filled with both colourful illustrations and text. Sally Stick and her best friend, and dog, Fetch are detectives investigating cases that really don’t need investigating.
In the first pages there is a brief introduction to Sally and her dog and then there are three separate stories, each with a different investigation happening, and each has a separate title. The book’s format reminds me of the ‘Mango & Bambang’ books as the size and feel of the book is the same along with the way it’s been coloured, with only black white and in this case yellow. The stories are all very funny as Stick and Fetch decide to investigate things that just don’t need investigating. For example, in one tale, my favourite, Stick and Fetch find a balloon that’s drifted into their garden. They decide it’s been stolen and so start to investigate. I won’t go into the details of the stories, but there’s a lot of silliness that happens in each tale, as the two detectives cause a bit of mayhem while conducting their investigations.
There are three tales in the book: ‘Telly Trouble’, ‘No Clowning Around’ and ‘Up, Up And Away’. Each story is not linked with the others and can be read on its own although the first story ‘Telly Trouble’ does a good job of introducing the characters and showing the format for the other stories. Although all three stories were funny to read I can’t help but love the last one. Just the idea of the balloon and its age made me laugh as well as the silliness of the adventure the two go on.
The illustrations really add to the humour. I like the way Fetch looks throughout the book, something about this dog and the way it looks just makes me smile and laugh alone. I also loved the image of what they look like to a neighbour when riding their bike. The illustrations are simple yet really show their expressions well and I can’t help but laugh when reading the story and looking at the pictures. I enjoy the colour of the pictures too. They are all black, white and yellow with various shades of grey and yellow. Despite the simple colours it does work and made this book so much fun to read.
Although the stories are all fun for children to read and are aimed at kids, those who are older, teens and adults will find these stories funny too. Perhaps those older will find the endings even funnier than some kids as they reveal just how silly and obvious some of the clues in the investigations are. I’d recommend this book to any kids who enjoy a good humour book. It’s hopefully the first of many books in a series.
-Thanks to Walker Books for a free copy.
In the first pages there is a brief introduction to Sally and her dog and then there are three separate stories, each with a different investigation happening, and each has a separate title. The book’s format reminds me of the ‘Mango & Bambang’ books as the size and feel of the book is the same along with the way it’s been coloured, with only black white and in this case yellow. The stories are all very funny as Stick and Fetch decide to investigate things that just don’t need investigating. For example, in one tale, my favourite, Stick and Fetch find a balloon that’s drifted into their garden. They decide it’s been stolen and so start to investigate. I won’t go into the details of the stories, but there’s a lot of silliness that happens in each tale, as the two detectives cause a bit of mayhem while conducting their investigations.
There are three tales in the book: ‘Telly Trouble’, ‘No Clowning Around’ and ‘Up, Up And Away’. Each story is not linked with the others and can be read on its own although the first story ‘Telly Trouble’ does a good job of introducing the characters and showing the format for the other stories. Although all three stories were funny to read I can’t help but love the last one. Just the idea of the balloon and its age made me laugh as well as the silliness of the adventure the two go on.
The illustrations really add to the humour. I like the way Fetch looks throughout the book, something about this dog and the way it looks just makes me smile and laugh alone. I also loved the image of what they look like to a neighbour when riding their bike. The illustrations are simple yet really show their expressions well and I can’t help but laugh when reading the story and looking at the pictures. I enjoy the colour of the pictures too. They are all black, white and yellow with various shades of grey and yellow. Despite the simple colours it does work and made this book so much fun to read.
Although the stories are all fun for children to read and are aimed at kids, those who are older, teens and adults will find these stories funny too. Perhaps those older will find the endings even funnier than some kids as they reveal just how silly and obvious some of the clues in the investigations are. I’d recommend this book to any kids who enjoy a good humour book. It’s hopefully the first of many books in a series.
-Thanks to Walker Books for a free copy.
September 3, 2020
Sally Stick and her dog Fetch live with her granny, Granny Stick. Sally is the founder and chief of the Stick & Fetch Detective Agency that she runs out of Granny’s kitchen. She loves solving mysteries along with her her beloved pet dog, Stick, and together they make quite the detective duo. The only problem is the duo are all too often, ‘barking up the wrong tree’.
Barking Up the Wrong Tree sees Stick and Fetch investigating three case. When Stick answers the phone and hears Mrs. Plink saying that she is about to explode, she leaps into detective action. Following the clues to a TV studio, the duo will need to act fast if they are to save Mrs. Plink from meeting an explosive end.
Then an empty photo frame appears on the desk of the Stick & Fetch Detective Agency and something doesn’t seem right. Where has the photo gone? There’s no time for ‘clowning’ around if they are to solve this mystery.
And then on a wintry morning a balloon that proclaims to be 80 years old today is discovered in the back garden. The detectives surmise that a balloon of that age must have been stolen from the local museum and that’s not the only thing that might’ve been stolen.
I love a good mystery and I like how this book introduces the genre of crime and mystery, albeit in a light-hearted and silly way, to young readers. What first appear as mysteries to the duo are actually misunderstandings and then a series of coincidences that lead them to believe they have solved a mystery. Stick and Fetch always return to Granny’s completely unaware of the mayhem that their detecting has caused.
These three crazy crime-capers are packed with fun and humour. Stick and Fetch are loveable characters and I love how Stick always manages to turn the most mundane things into exciting adventures and mysteries that need to be solved.
There are plenty of detective-themed words used in the text and I always like to read a book that is true to it’s genre. Readers are introduced to arch-nemesis, deduce and trace, amongst others. These detective-themed words are written in a different font and explanations are given allowing readers to accurately follow the story. The book is illustrated throughout with illustrations in warming shades of yellow that bring the story to life.
A read brimming with imagination and how adventure can always be found if you look hard enough.
Recommended for 6+.
Barking Up the Wrong Tree sees Stick and Fetch investigating three case. When Stick answers the phone and hears Mrs. Plink saying that she is about to explode, she leaps into detective action. Following the clues to a TV studio, the duo will need to act fast if they are to save Mrs. Plink from meeting an explosive end.
Then an empty photo frame appears on the desk of the Stick & Fetch Detective Agency and something doesn’t seem right. Where has the photo gone? There’s no time for ‘clowning’ around if they are to solve this mystery.
And then on a wintry morning a balloon that proclaims to be 80 years old today is discovered in the back garden. The detectives surmise that a balloon of that age must have been stolen from the local museum and that’s not the only thing that might’ve been stolen.
I love a good mystery and I like how this book introduces the genre of crime and mystery, albeit in a light-hearted and silly way, to young readers. What first appear as mysteries to the duo are actually misunderstandings and then a series of coincidences that lead them to believe they have solved a mystery. Stick and Fetch always return to Granny’s completely unaware of the mayhem that their detecting has caused.
These three crazy crime-capers are packed with fun and humour. Stick and Fetch are loveable characters and I love how Stick always manages to turn the most mundane things into exciting adventures and mysteries that need to be solved.
There are plenty of detective-themed words used in the text and I always like to read a book that is true to it’s genre. Readers are introduced to arch-nemesis, deduce and trace, amongst others. These detective-themed words are written in a different font and explanations are given allowing readers to accurately follow the story. The book is illustrated throughout with illustrations in warming shades of yellow that bring the story to life.
A read brimming with imagination and how adventure can always be found if you look hard enough.
Recommended for 6+.
May 11, 2018
This is a children's detective story which is full of misunderstandings & humour. Sally & her dog, Fetch, set out to solve mysteries only to discover that they weren't really mysteries in the first place!
This is a great book for youngsters who are quite new to reading more advanced stories for themselves - around 7/8 years old. There are three individual stories in the book which breaks it down into manageable chunks. Each double page has both writing and pictures. Often the writing is broken into smaller chunks around the pictures so it doesn't seem to daunting for the early reader.
I am not entirely convinced that the age of child that this book is aimed at can appreciate the humour in the book. Much of the humour centres around Sally finding things to investigate which don't need investigating - all all children would understand that. However, there is also plenty of slapstick type humour which children do understand and love.
I think it would be lovely if this was the first in the series - one girl and her dog make great main characters!
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
This is a great book for youngsters who are quite new to reading more advanced stories for themselves - around 7/8 years old. There are three individual stories in the book which breaks it down into manageable chunks. Each double page has both writing and pictures. Often the writing is broken into smaller chunks around the pictures so it doesn't seem to daunting for the early reader.
I am not entirely convinced that the age of child that this book is aimed at can appreciate the humour in the book. Much of the humour centres around Sally finding things to investigate which don't need investigating - all all children would understand that. However, there is also plenty of slapstick type humour which children do understand and love.
I think it would be lovely if this was the first in the series - one girl and her dog make great main characters!
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
April 20, 2020
I really like this fun book, as well as the illustrations throughout the book. I think that this would be a great book to use as either a read-aloud, or to have in my classroom library for my students to have access to at all times. I think that I would do a fun activity that involves the students to solve different clues to eventually solve the mystery. We could have this as a week-long activity, and give the students 30 min every day to work on their mystery. You could make it more fun by giving them case files, and then have the students in multiple groups with each group working on a different case.
January 25, 2022
Average kids detective type book with talking dog and forgettable plot, which kids will read fifty times anyway so that is fine, I am not the target market, but you would still hope to find something in there for the adult reader, there wasn't much.
December 29, 2020
Read- December 2020
- I will read anything marketed as middle grade mystery but I just didn't enjoy this one.
- I will read anything marketed as middle grade mystery but I just didn't enjoy this one.
June 6, 2022
A bit confusing, but it's pretty good!
March 16, 2025
An adorable detective duo who bungle up any “cases” that come their way.
August 29, 2018
See here for my review:
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