Rutherford, Canine Comic is a humorous romp that pivots between moments of hilarity and heroism. The hero of the story, a basset hound named Rutherford, is brave, good-hearted, and immensely lovable. He has natural difficulties to overcome, such as a physical disability, but he never lets his troubles drown his good humor and lighthearted spirit. Even when in dire peril, Rutherford finds a way to look on the bright side. His companions, many of whom are shelter dogs and outcasts themselves for one reason or another, are also inspirational and entertaining. Each dog, even to an extent the villainous animals in the story, have charming and unique aspects to their personality that young readers will find entertaining.

At the heart of this book is Rutherford’s sense of humor. Since he is a stand-up comic, he tells quite a few jokes, and these are very funny. They are the sort of jokes that readers in the elementary grades will likely take out of the book context and tell to their own friends to inspire a laugh. The book has plenty of action, and it is written at a brisk pace that entertains the reader, but the jokes are what set it apart from other animal stories. This provides a unique reading experience that merges the realms of adventure story and joke-book in a way that should appeal to middle grade readers among whom both of those genres are widely enjoyed.

Review of an Early Review Copy 
This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by the Author

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language:  None

Violence/Gore:  An animal tries to bite a person; a fight between animals with no major injury; minor property damage; animals consider eating another animal a few times; a human threatens animals with a baseball bat; a character wishes out loud that he was dead; an animal threatens and chases another; a character has a medical emergency; report of an animal being thrown out of a moving car; report of a dog partially paralyzed in an accident; report of dogs forced to fight for people to watch; an animal is hit by a car (not graphic); an animal minorly injures itself trying to escape a cage.

Sex/Nudity:  None

Mature Subject Matter:

Animal neglect; death (friend); mention of pet euthanasia; physical disability; bullying; dog fighting for sport.

Alcohol / Drug Use:

None