My Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
About Book 1- The Invasion of the Goblin Horde:
Ruff and Tumble are dogs with jobs: as Pack Protectors they must keep invaders out of the Pack Lands. This is mainly done by barking a lot. But if something really horrible, like a Trolley of Trolls, comes banging on the door they attack with swords and battleaxes.
This is just what does happen, except it turns out to be a deliveryman. But that is enough to get Ruff’s imagination working wildly. He is soon mixing up all the things that happen to him in the day with the storyline of the book he is reading (The Goblin Horde). He starts dreaming that he is Righteous Rufus, mighty Warrior and hero, who must stop the invasion of the Goblin Horde.
Unfortunately he then starts mixing his dreams back into real life. His toys have gone missing and if he doesn’t get them back the Goblin Horde will invade the Pack Lands and murder everyone in their beds!
Tumble doesn’t want to believe in any of it. After all, there are no such things as goblins. But she slowly gets caught up in Ruff enthusiasm to the point where she is chasing goblins through the woods.
Ruff (Rufus) is a Scottish Terrier. He is black and shaggy and gets overly excited. He is also a little nervy. He has far too much imagination for his own good and reads books which only fire him up more. He tends to get a bit confused between real life and his dreams.
Tumble (Thumbelina) is a Pembrokeshire Corgi. She describes the breed as, ‘an ancient, Welsh, wolf like breed, not overly tall, used for herding cattle, very graceful and beautiful.’ She thinks quite a lot of herself but is willing to get her paws dirty to do what is right. She acts like Ruff’s older sister.
In fact Ruff and Tumble are very much like brother and sister: they tease each other, play tricks and banter a lot, but ultimately they look out for each other.
This is just what does happen, except it turns out to be a deliveryman. But that is enough to get Ruff’s imagination working wildly. He is soon mixing up all the things that happen to him in the day with the storyline of the book he is reading (The Goblin Horde). He starts dreaming that he is Righteous Rufus, mighty Warrior and hero, who must stop the invasion of the Goblin Horde.
Unfortunately he then starts mixing his dreams back into real life. His toys have gone missing and if he doesn’t get them back the Goblin Horde will invade the Pack Lands and murder everyone in their beds!
Tumble doesn’t want to believe in any of it. After all, there are no such things as goblins. But she slowly gets caught up in Ruff enthusiasm to the point where she is chasing goblins through the woods.
Ruff (Rufus) is a Scottish Terrier. He is black and shaggy and gets overly excited. He is also a little nervy. He has far too much imagination for his own good and reads books which only fire him up more. He tends to get a bit confused between real life and his dreams.
Tumble (Thumbelina) is a Pembrokeshire Corgi. She describes the breed as, ‘an ancient, Welsh, wolf like breed, not overly tall, used for herding cattle, very graceful and beautiful.’ She thinks quite a lot of herself but is willing to get her paws dirty to do what is right. She acts like Ruff’s older sister.
In fact Ruff and Tumble are very much like brother and sister: they tease each other, play tricks and banter a lot, but ultimately they look out for each other.
About Book 2: Invasion of the Dog Eating Yetis-
'Vigilance is Vital' when you're a Pack Protector. That's why Ruff and Tumble are always alert and on the lookout for Invaders. Well, Ruff is anyway. Having just saved the Pack Lands from a Horde of Goblins, Ruff now uncovers a new threat. Dog Eating Yetis have frozen the world and are ready to invade. Can Ruff save the Pack Lands? And can he get Tumble to help? This is the second book in the Ruff and Tumble series. Each book can be read independently, with no need to have read the previous books in the series. This book has illustrations and some fancy/exaggerated fonts to engage younger readers. It has been written as a self reader for advanced younger readers or as a story book to be shared by parents with their primary school aged children (and has proved to be as popular with the adult readers as the children).
My Thoughts on Both Books:
I know that these stories are for children, but being a dog lover the plot appealed to me--we all know how silly our furry little critters can be! I can certainly see the appeal to children, separated into chapters that each work wonderfully on their own, both books would be great for a morning story circle or a nightly bedtime story. The illustrations are simple, but still quite clean and detailed and I found myself both smiling and at times laughing at them. Really added to the books!Ruff and Tumble are absolutely adorable little characters! Ruff has got one heck of an imagination, and Tumble(though reluctant) has certainly got an imagination on her as well. It's a very entertaining read even for me, at seventeen, reading all about the adventures these two get into!
I highly recommend these books for parents of Elementary age children on up. Great for those who can't yet read and those who are just starting out. It's a lovely little book, so much so that I think your only problem will be getting the little ones to sleep if this is their bedtime story because I see many "one more chapter" requests in your future!
*I received this book for review from the author, but this in no way affected my thoughts expressed in this review*
About Royston Wood:
As a child I was a reluctant reader. I didn't see it as reluctance, I just didn't see the point: there were comics and a picture is worth a thousand words right?
I am now an avid reader and regret missing out on so many good stories as a child. Fortunately, with children of my own, I'm now managing to catch up, reading stories to them every night before bed.
There isn't anything quite like a good book to let you escape from the world for a while. True, films are great, but they don't engage you as much as a book. A well written book will get your imagination working, filling the story with colour and energy: a film is a depiction of somebody else's imagination.
In fact, I enjoy reading stories to my children so much, I started to write my own. And bearing in mind my own reluctance to read as a child I have written them to be as engaging as possible, to draw the reluctant reader into a land of imagination and discovery.
Royston has another book, Tyger Pants, which I plan on sharing my thoughts on as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment
I love comments! Please, let me know what you thought about this post. :)