Roscoe Riley Rules 3 – Don’t Swap Your Sweater for a Dog

Don't Swap Your Sweater for a Dog by Katherine Applegate is a very funny confession for 8 year olds, told from time-out.

What happens

Roscoe Riley is in trouble again. He usually is. He tells you the whole story while he sits out his punishment, which is how these books work and it is a brilliant trick.

This time he borrowed somebody else's dog.

It starts with trophies. His little sister Hazel is still in preschool and has already won one for swimming and one for being the fastest skipper in her class. Then she comes home with a third, for best sitting-still at circle time.

Roscoe has a small plastic statue for most improved hand raising. Even his mum has a trophy, for selling biscuits door to door.

Life is so not fair, as he puts it.

His own dog Goofy is a big whitish fellow with floppy ears who almost always has something in his mouth. Mum's phone. An old gym sock. Three tennis balls at once.

Then Martin moves in down the road with a poodle called Edward, who appears to read books out loud. Arf arf arf arf. Roscoe is completely sold.

There is a trick contest for dogs at the street fair on Saturday, with a trophy for the winner. Goofy cannot learn a single letter. Martin will lend him Edward, for a price, and the price is the sweater Roscoe's grandma knitted him.

You have to picture the sweater. Hearts, flowers, smiley faces, baby ducks, a pink bunny on one sleeve and something on the elbow that nobody can identify. Roscoe loathes it. He hands it over behind a bush.

And then he is cold.

The reading is pure Roscoe. Short chapters with joke titles, and little lists of advice he has clearly learned the hard way. His tips for new teachers are the best bit. Don't grouch at your students. Don't try to make them learn everything in one day, in case their brain explodes.

He is also quietly loyal, which is what makes the swap sting. He calls Goofy a dummy under his breath and then feels awful about it for the rest of the afternoon.

Nothing frightening happens anywhere. The worst of it is the squirm of having done something you cannot undo, which at eight is a big enough feeling on its own. It is American, so your reader will meet a few words sideways, including the sweater of the title, which is plainly a jumper.

You can start here. Roscoe introduces everyone from scratch on page one.

What to read next

If more time-out appeals, Don't Tap-Dance on Your Teacher has him promising to tap in the school talent show and then discovering what the big boys in his class think about that.