Oi puppies! by Kes Gray and Jim Field

Hachette, 2020. ISBN: 9781444937367.
(Age: 4+) Highly recommended. Another in the wildly funny series of books, Oi frog, Oi cat, Oi dog and Oi duck-billed platypus, comes another which follows the same storyline, thus instantly gathering together its enormous retinue of fans, eager to participate, predict and laugh out loud.
The front cover alerts the reader to the stunned dog; eyes wide and staring, urging the reader to offer help as it is overwhelmed by seven puppies all in different stages of excitement. Both Cat and Frog try to help Dog, offering advice while ordering the puppies to sit. But of course, none do. Each of the puppies is named and each name reflects a trait shown by the puppy, giving the illustrator wonderful comic license to show them in all their glory. The puppies jump and crawl, climb, use the cat's whiskers as a swing, tug the Frog's shorts, the exasperated looks on the animals' faces adding to the fun of the story.
At his wit's end, Frog calls the Oi Animals Seating Supply Company, and the next few pages shows each of the puppies aligned to a rhyming seat. So Buster gets a duster, Jock a sock and Tiddles a fiddle. Each page shows an animal and its name with a rhyming word, all augmented with wonderful funny illustrations, sure to evoke laughter from the reader. They will love predicting the rhyming word, making suggestions of their own, and laugh out loud at the twist that comes at the end of the tale.
And the very last page hints at number six in the series coming along soon.
Themes: Puppies, Dogs, Humour, Verse, Pets.
Fran Knight