Steven Butler

I would recommend this book for anyone wanting to read about a hilarious dog who is always looking for adventure. This is part of the Dog Diaries and is written from the perspective a dog, Junior, who often winds up in trouble while looking for fun adventures but doesn’t really understand exactly what he is doing wrong (like using the restroom in a girl’s shoes). However, he quickly bounces back and is again happy and full of himself. In this book, Big Top Bonanza, a circus comes to town and Junior and his dog pack friends are determined to go. Junior spends a lot of time planning and thinking about all the fun things he is going to do when he gets there. However, unfortunately, dogs are not allowed on the roller coasters or in the Big Top. Junior and his dog friends unhappily wait outside until one of them decides they should sneak in. They do so and Junior sees an old friend from his days at the animal shelter performing on the stage. This is too much excitement for Junior and he and his friends run to the stage, creating chaos. They, and their owners, were asked to leave but not before Junior and his old pal made plans to meet up. Junior was able to sneak out of his house and meet with his old friend who tells him that she will teach him circus tricks so he can perform with her on the final night. Read the book to find out if Junior gets to perform at the circus and, if he does, will it be a night to remember or a disaster he hopes to forget?
This is a fun book that is written with a young reader’s humor in mind. Junior is a dog who does not lack for confidence, and it makes him do things that are not always the best choice. However, Junior takes everything in stride and keeps trying no matter what, which is a good lesson in resilience. There are illustrations throughout the book that add to the book rather than distract and match the action in the book. It is recommended for ages 8-11 or grades 2-7 but could be read by younger readers because there is no obscene content… (more)

Cute new book that I'll be adding to our 4th/5th grade school library. It's told from the dog's point of view and is sure to be a hit with my developing readers along with all readers who like a funny story. There wasn't much action the first half of the book, but it got better and the vocabulary is hilarious. Even adults will get a kick out of the "About the Authors" section, which includes "James Pat-My-Head-Erson" ("one of the biggest-selling GOOD BOYS"), "Steven Butt-sniff" ("His Wrong Pong series was short-licked for the Roald Dahl funny prize"), and Richard Watson ("a labra-doodler"). At the end, there is a dog dot-to-dot and word search, which won't go over well in a library. I wish publishers would consider things like that, but, oh, well. Still a cute story!… (more)