Fenway and the Frisbee Trick

Victoria J. Coe's Fenway and the Frisbee Trick is a bouncy, tail-wagging story for 7 year olds, told by a little dog who's desperate to master a brand-new trick.

What happens

Fenway is a Jack Russell. He loves his girl Hattie, he loves playing fetch in the Big Park and he does NOT trust squirrels. Then a Rottweiler called Carmen turns up and catches a Frisbee in mid-air. She even spins round while she's doing it.

Everyone claps. Everyone cheers. And Fenway wants that so much.

Fenway tells the whole story himself, and that's the joy of it. He doesn't quite understand people, but he's absolutely sure he does. When the delivery driver leaves a parcel and goes, Fenway knows his barking scared him off. Hattie's parents are Food Lady and Fetch Man, which tells you exactly what Fenway thinks they're for.

Getting a Frisbee turns out to be the easy bit. Catching one is much harder. There's always a squirrel chattering on the fence at the wrong moment. And when Hattie throws it down the hallway indoors, a lamp and a vase of flowers pay the price (Food Lady is not impressed).

Little readers will spot what's going wrong long before Fenway does, which is half the fun. Will he ever catch it? You'll have to read to the end to find out, and his big moment isn't quite the one he was planning.

It's a lovely one for a child who's just starting to read chapter books on their own. The chapters are short, the sentences are short, and there's plenty of repetition to lean on ("I'm ready! I'm so ready!").

It's a good pick if your child has a dog, or badly wants one. Goldie and Patches next door keep telling Fenway he's amazing just as he is. It's a sweet little message about being yourself, and it never gets preachy.

What to read next

If they fall for Fenway, Fenway and the Bone Thieves has him guarding a brand-new bone from those sneaky squirrels.