A WISHING SHELF BOOK REVIEW - Gus Finds His Way Home

10th September 2020

TITLE: Gus Finds His Way Home

AUTHOR: Karen Nicksich Ill. by Steph Bucci

Star Rating: 4

‘A delightfully sweet story of a dog trying to find his forever home.’ The Wishing Shelf

REVIEW Gus Finds His Way Home is a wonderfully sweet story for 7 to 10 year old boys and girls. Well-written with a good balance of speech and ‘keep the story moving’ , it follows a rescue dog called Gus and how he finds his new ‘forever home’. The most striking element of this short novel is how well Karen Nicksich helps the young reader to get to know Gus. Written from his POV, you can fully understand how confusing and frightening it must be for the dog – any animal – when it is not wanted. And Gus is such a wonderful character too; happy, running everywhere, just wanting to be loved.

I liked a lot of things about this book. I liked how cleverly it was presented and how sensibly it was put together. I liked how the fun illustrations work so well with the text to put across the message in an interesting way. And I liked that the author wants children to understand the plight of animals who do not get well looked after. So, who is this book for? Well, it’s for primary school kids, basically 7 – 10 year olds, although slightly older children might enjoy it too. I suspect most schools would love to have this book in the library/classroom or, indeed, as part of an ‘animal welfare’ lesson. Parents too would find it invaluable, particularly if they are thinking of adopting a rescue dog. I always like to end with the bit I liked best. Well, this was it. When Gus finds his forever home, he thinks, My new family tells me every day that I am a good dog. I just needed a second chance. I think, often, that’s what we all need – dogs too!

Enjoy! A ‘Wishing Shelf’ Book Review

www.thewsa.co.uk