Dogs with Jobs: The Heroic Hounds Who Make a Difference (Andrea Rowe, illus Julia Murray, HGCP)

Dogs with Jobs: The Heroic Hounds Who Make a Difference is an engaging and brilliantly designed nonfiction picture book by award-winning children’s author Andrea Rowe (In the Rockpool). Ideal for readers aged 8–12, the book explores the fascinating and wide-ranging roles of service dogs across the world. Rowe’s warm and humorous prose pairs perfectly with artist and typographer Julia Murray’s vivid, inviting illustrations. Chapters are organised into job categories, each with a mock job advertisement (“Pawsition Vacant”), a “Meet the Breeds” section, and a “Heroic Hounds” page (celebrating real-life working dogs). There is no shortage of canine facts, but the design never looks too busy thanks to an intuitive, streamlined layout and well-placed graphics. The “Conservation Dogs” chapter is a highlight, with remarkable examples of highly specific jobs that dogs do to protect endangered species. “Entertainment Dogs” and “Royals’ and Rulers’ Dogs” are also wonderful for their comedy and puppy pizzazz. While some content could risk becoming repetitive (with popular dogs such as labradors appearing in multiple chapters), Rowe always finds new and dynamic ways to present information, using alliteration and amusing pooch puns to elevate the text. Dogs with Jobs will appeal to both the dog–obsessed reader and to animal lovers more broadly. Its educational material is easy to absorb yet richly detailed, ensuring that kids will return to it repeatedly to find something new.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Charlotte Callander is a freelance writer who has worked as a bookseller and museum educator. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

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Category: Reviews