Sunday 2 October 2022

The Worst Dog in the World

The Worst Dog in the World by Michel Streich (Scholastic Australia) HB RPP ISBN 97817438778

Reviewed by Kathleen Grace

A small girl wants a dog, but she gets Piper … the worst dog in the world. Piper doesn’t know how to play fetch, she doesn’t want to learn any tricks, she hates being in the car and frolicking at the beach with the other dogs. She loathes baths and really doesn’t want a tummy tickle! Luckily though, as soon as Piper feels ignored, she starts returning a little love … and that’s when we realise what she really likes to do … she is crazy about paper and string and cardboard boxes. Her owner finds that ‘we were both fond of lazy evenings’, and Piper makes ‘a great hot water bottle’ (when she lies on the little girl).  It is only at the end that Piper’s mistress realises that Piper isn’t a dog, but a cat.

Other than the unsatisfying ending (how could the girl NOT realise that Piper is a cat from the outset?), this brightly coloured book with bold cartoon-like illustrations is sure to amuse a reader aged 3 to 6 years.

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