A Puppy Called Sparkle

Helen Peters's A Puppy Called Sparkle is an animal rescue story for 7 year olds about a girl who spots that something is badly wrong with a puppy in a car park.

What happens

Jasmine and her mum are on their way home from visiting her big sister at university when they stop at a motorway service station. In the car park a woman is handing a tiny golden retriever puppy to a man, in exchange for a thick wad of cash.

Jasmine can see straight away that the puppy isn't well. There's gunk in her eyes. Her head is tilted to one side and she keeps shaking it, as though something hurts.

Luckily Jasmine's mum is a farm vet (and quite fierce!). She starts asking some very awkward questions. The vaccination certificate turns out to be a photocopy, there's no microchip, and the seller jumps in her car and screeches off. Not before Jasmine has memorised the number plate, though.

Which is how they end up driving home with a poorly puppy on Jasmine's lap. She names her Sparkle, after a fireworks poster in a shop window. Mum is VERY clear that they're only fostering her until after Christmas.

What follows is so lovely. Jasmine reads up on everything. There are toilet trips at three in the morning, sitting for treats and a lot of practice at coming back when called (much harder when there's a football to chase). Anyone whose child has ever begged for a puppy will recognise that level of dedication!

Her little brother Manu is a menace, of course. One ice cream cone and a thrown tennis ball later, there's a puddle on the kitchen floor.

Then Jasmine's classmate Lily brings her assistance dog Shadow into school. Shadow can smell when Lily's blood sugar is dropping and fetch her medical kit. And Jasmine begins to wonder whether a clever puppy who loves learning might have a job like that one day.

Puppy farms come up quite a bit, especially in the talk Jasmine gives to her class. Mother dogs made to have litter after litter, and puppies sold sick. Nothing is graphic, but a very soft-hearted reader might find those bits sad. They'll also cheer when Jasmine turns a mean question from Bella right back round on her!

If your reader loves animals and fancies themselves as a dog trainer, this is a real treat.

What to read next

If this one goes down well, go back to where Jasmine's stories began. A Piglet Called Truffle is the first book about her, and it opens with the tiniest piglet in a litter, too weak to push in and feed.