Queen Anne Books

The creator of the Bloom County comic strip and last year’s amazing picture book Pete & Pickles has written his first novel for kids (on sale September 17), and it’s wonderful!
Flawed Dogs: The Shocking Raid on Westminster is gorgeously illustrated and just over 200 pages, so the publishers are recommending it for ages 8-12. But if you are a Berkeley Breathed fan or a dog lover, I recommend it to you, no matter what age you are. This is a funny, tender, uplifting book that is a tribute to the power of love.
Breathed did a picture book called Flawed Dogs: The Year-End Leftovers at the Piddleton “Last Chance” Dog Pound in 2003, and the cover dog for that clever collection is the hero of the new novel. Sam the Lion, a purebred dachshund who eventually acquires a ladle for a prosthetic leg, connects deeply with fourteen-year-old orphan, Heidy, as they arrive at the airport in Vermont. Of course, their love cannot be easy; an evil nemesis in the form of a standard poodle named Cassius comes between them in rather violent ways. Sam gets injured and lost, but eventually meets up with a hilarious group of misfit canines at the National Last Ditch Dog Depository. The flawed dogs get into slapstick shenanigans in their quest for recognition and love, and they had me cheering for them all the way. This book is silly, sweet, and unforgettable. ~Tegan