Farm rescue by Darrel Odgers and Sally Odgers

Pup patrol series. Scholastic, 2015. ISBN 9781743622995
(Age: 6-8) Recommended. Working Dogs. Pets. Floods. Farming. Border Collies. Rescues. Darrel and Sally Odgers have written a new series, Pup patrol for newly independent readers. Barnaby Station Stamp of Approval - Stamp the border collie and his owner James are travelling around Australia in Fourby the 4WD. James is having a year off before starting university. In Farm rescue James and Stamp take shelter at Pepper Plains Farm after the heavy rain soaks their camping gear. James is damp, Fourby is muddy and Stamp's wet dog smell is a problem.
The rain causes a flash flood and the farm animals, sheep and cows need to be moved to higher land and fed hay dropped from the back of the farm ute. Rusty the sheepdog welcomes Stamp and together they help farmer Glen Pepper to move the animals. As the waters rise and the farmland becomes flooded James, Glen, Rusty and Stamp are called out to rescue the neighbour's sheep. The flood waters are fast and fierce with huge trees floating by. Rusty leaps into the water and swims to the sheep stranded on a small island. It is a tense night of waiting before Stamp steps in to save the day.
Pawsitively an enjoyable story, filled with dog facts, paw puns, definitions to end each easy-to-read chapter. Janine Dawson's sketches support the text and add to the drama, the surging flood, farm underwater and the rescue scenes.
This is a great start to a new Australian series. Where will Stamp and James travel to next and what adventure awaits them?
Rhyllis Bignell