Fenway and Hattie and the Evil Bunny Gang is the second in a series.  It is not necessary to read the first book in order to enjoy and follow this one.  Fenway is a Jack Russell Terrier and the book is told from his perspective.  He only understands a few human words and he has his own names for things.  (For instance, the mom in the family is the “Food Lady”.)  Ms. Coe does capture the frantic, hyper, Jack Russell Terrier personality; at times it is a bit exhausting to follow Fenway around because he really never “gives it a rest”.  There are strong themes of friendship, responsibility, and honesty for both the dogs and humans in this novel.

This book would be good for readers even younger than nine.  In particular, it would be an excellent story to read with an adult, as a tool to teach new readers how to make inferences, draw conclusions from clues, and read between the lines.  Because everything is seen from Fenway’s perspective, the action needs to be “interpreted/translated” from dog into human, and this is a great skill for emerging readers.

Review of an Advance Reader’s Copy

This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language:  None

Violence/Gore:  None

Sex/Nudity:  None

Mature Subject Matter:

None

Alcohol / Drug Use:

None