Jack Henseleit (text), and Chris Kennett (illustrator), A Dog’s Breakfast (Cross Bones #1), Hardie Grant, July 2022, 224 pp., RRP $15.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760509255
A stolen map, hidden treasure, and sea dog pirates makes for a high seas adventure like no other. Add in some funny jokes, and you have a story readers aged 7 years and over will thoroughly enjoy.
Magnus, Daisy, Ed, and Spot are on the hunt for hidden treasure on the great seas. But their plans take a turn when some formidable pirates enter the waters.
Will they get the loot, and see their rollicking adventure through?
Jack Henseleit brings as a fun-filled sea quest in a page turner made even more enjoyable by Chris Kennett’s clever illustrations interspersed with a movielike backstory. Exploring themes such as adventure, friendship, and pirates, there is something for every adventurer. Readers will be on the edge of their seats, encountering icebergs, piranhas, a creepy wolverine, and a secret spy!
A clever die-cut porthole cover will feature in the special edition run and is a great opening to the story of a group of dodgy, doggy pirates out for some misadventure.
Channelling some Bad Guys energy, book #1 of this series is sure to be a hit with middle graders who love a sense of adventure, pirates and ALL THE JOKES!
Author Jack Henseleit is also known for his middle-grade horror series The Witching Hours.
Reviewed by Shelley Stephens
