The Great Pet Heist

Emily Ecton's The Great Pet Heist is a very silly crime caper for 10 year olds, told by a flat full of pets who suddenly have to look after themselves.

What happens

Butterbean is a long-haired sausage dog. She's never been the best-behaved dog in the building, but she's never thought of herself as a BAD one. Then one Tuesday morning Mrs. Food, who looks after them all, slips on the kitchen floor right where Butterbean has just been sick.

Down she goes. The pets try to check her vitals (Butterbean starts at the wrong end) until paramedics arrive and wheel Mrs. Food away.

That leaves Butterbean, Walt the cat, a mynah bird called Oscar and two rats Butterbean never knew lived in the office. Bob the maintenance man reckons they've got about a week before the pound. So Oscar calls an emergency meeting.

Their first idea is to pool their treasures. It's a sorry pile. One earring, some compression socks, a piece of corn shaped like a rat's head and a two-week-old slice of toast Butterbean is saving for later. But hidden under her tail is a gold coin a stranger dropped in the lobby. And Oscar has a plan.

Anyone who drops coins like that must have lots more. So they'll take them.

Is it really stealing if you're a dog? Your reader can decide. The fun is in how badly suited this gang is to crime. Polo the rat sets off for the lobby clinging to Butterbean's tummy, and only then do they both remember what a dog's morning walk is actually for. Oscar learned most of what he knows from the telly. Walt pushes the one button she's been told not to push.

You get each animal's version of events, and they're all very sure of themselves. Oscar thinks he's the brains. Butterbean thinks the underpants in her stash must be worth a fortune (people never let you play with them, so they must be).

There's a girl too, sent in to walk the dog and feed everyone. She's clearly a bit lonely, and the pets can't decide whether to trust her.

The opening is quite a jolt, with Mrs. Food lying on the floor and Butterbean asking if she's dead. It's played for laughs and she's taken off to hospital, but a child who's recently seen a grandparent fall might like a grown-up close by for chapter one.

What to read next

If they love a gang of misfits nobody takes seriously, Emily Ecton's The Ambrose Deception has three kids their school has written off, picked for a scholarship contest that looks a lot like a con.