The Secret Life of Pets 2

David Lewman's The Secret Life of Pets 2 is a film story for 8 year olds about a dog who takes his new responsibilities far too seriously.

What happens

Max is a small brown and white dog who likes things exactly as they are. Him, his big shaggy brother Duke, and Katie holding both leads. No more, no less. No noisy children.

Then Katie meets Chuck, who cycles into a parked taxi while looking at her, which is a very Pets way to start a romance. They get married. And then there's a baby called Liam.

Max is against it. Loudly, inside his own head.

Liam screams. Liam throws toys. Liam finds Max in the closet and comes crawling at him at full speed. Max hides under the dining table and gets bonked with a ball, which is not what balls are for.

Then one day Liam crawls over, puts his chubby arms round him and says he loves him.

And that's that. Max has a kid.

The part that makes this better than you'd expect is what happens next. Max doesn't go soft. He goes anxious. New York is full of cars and pigeons and horrible things a toddler might put in his mouth, and Max decides the entire lot is his responsibility.

He sets up a walkie-talkie network with the other pets in the building and refers to Liam as "the package". He has Norman the guinea pig tailing a pushchair in a remote-control car. He scratches behind his ear until Katie takes him to the vet and he comes home in a plastic cone.

Your reader will find that very funny. A parent might find it slightly close to the bone.

There are two other stories running alongside, which is why the book moves so fast. Snowball the rabbit has been dressed as a superhero by his owner and now sincerely believes he is Captain Snowball, available for rescues. And a small dog called Daisy turns up with a problem involving a tiger.

That last thread is the one to flag before you start. Daisy finds a young white tiger in an aircraft hold, chained up and frightened, belonging to a circus. Nobody is hurt on the page and the book doesn't dwell on it, but a child who gets upset about animals in cages will notice it straight away.

The writing is plain and quick, with sound effects in capitals on nearly every page. It's built to be read fast. A reader who has seen the film will hear the voices while they read, and one who hasn't will follow it perfectly well.

What to read next

If what your reader enjoys most is an animal narrator who is absolutely certain he is in charge, try Hank the Cowdog. Hank is Head of Ranch Security, he takes his duties extremely seriously, and he can't get through his first page without losing track of which day he is talking about.