Lizzie and Lucky: The Mystery of the Missing Puppies

Megan Rix's Lizzie and Lucky: The Mystery of the Missing Puppies is a gentle detective story for 6 year olds about a girl who wants a dog more than ANYTHING.

What happens

Lizzie is eight and deaf, and so are her mum and dad. They sign to each other at home. She's writing a glittery list of reasons why having a dog would be a really, really, really good idea, and Dad says she needs a hundred and one of them.

Some reasons are very sensible. Nobody in her house would hear a burglar, but a dog could. Victor, the hearing dog next door, knows over fifty signs and commands.

Then, out walking Victor one afternoon, Lizzie sees a man run out of an alley with a puppy under his arm. He throws it into a grubby white van and speeds off. She only manages to remember part of the number plate.

We see the puppy's side of things too. Little Green is a tiny Dalmatian, lifted over her garden fence while she was chasing a butterfly. Now she's locked in a dark garage full of cages and frightened dogs. The saddest, sweetest moment is when she touches paws with an old spaniel through the bars.

The short chapters swap between Lizzie and the puppy, so younger readers always know more than Lizzie does, which makes them want to shout at the page! Lizzie is a great little detective. She loves lists, keeps a noticeboard of every pet she looks after (Iggy the iguana is VERY good at escaping) and notices everything.

Being deaf is just part of everyday life here, and it's done so naturally. Mum's hearing aids have charms on them. Dad honks the car horn and has no idea how loud it is. Lizzie's best friend Ted signs with her. A deaf child might love seeing a family like theirs in a story, and a hearing child picks up plenty along the way.

The garage scenes might worry a very soft-hearted animal lover, as the dogs are scared and shut in the dark. You might want to read those bits together.

What to read next

For a child who's also desperate for a pet of their own, Winston and the Marmalade Cat is another Megan Rix story. Harry is nine, his parents won't let him have one, so he helps out at an animal rescue centre instead.