A Forever Home for Tilly

Linda Chapman and Julie Sykes's A Forever Home for Tilly is an animal story for 5 year olds about twins who find new homes for unwanted pets, and one very naughty puppy.

What happens

Grace and Jack are twins, both nine, who run Forever Homes from a shed at the bottom of their garden. Their mum looks after other people's dogs during the day, and she drives them about in a van painted to look like a dog (who wouldn't want a ride in that?).

On a walk the twins hear a puppy yapping behind a garden wall. Tilly is a fluffy cockapoo, shut outside with no water because her owner is fed up with the mess she makes. Grace very nearly loses her temper. Jack stays polite. And they walk home with Tilly on a lead.

Now they have to find her the perfect owner. First they run personality tests (Jack claps his hands loudly to see if she's brave). Then they start her training. She's clever, bursting with energy and VERY good at making a mess.

She also has a funny little habit. She lines up her toys and nudges them about until they look just right, as if she's arranging a picture!

It's lovely seeing how the twins work together. Grace is warm-hearted and a bit impulsive, while Jack is sensible and writes everything down. There's lots of real puppy know-how slipped in, like ignoring a puppy that jumps up and why there's no point telling one off after the event.

It's gentle and funny, with a happy, reassuring feel all the way through. At the back there's a quiz about looking after puppies, Grace's fact file and a page of cockapoo questions and answers. If your reader is begging for a puppy, it's a nice way to show how much work one takes!

It's a proper chapter book, so younger readers might like to share it with you at first.

What to read next

For another animal waiting for a forever home, try Snowpea the Puppy Queen. Snowpea is a very tidy foster kitten who's practising to be a queen, until two puppies turn up in her room.