We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Since I am not the target audience for this book, I don’t think my issues with it will affect young readers as there are so many crazy elements to this story for them to love.

The action begins early, even if it’s slapstick and silly, the tension builds as Robodog chases villains, supervillains are chasing dogs, and the Chief and her wife the Professor are caught up in the middle. Velma is determined to wipe not only Robodog off the planet but every other dog in Bedlam, and suddenly every villain has escaped from Bedlam Prison. Added to all this, David’s books have achieved unprecedented critical acclaim: Awful Auntie, Ratburger and Demon Dentist won the National Book Awards Children’s Book of the Year and in France David was awarded the popular Tamtam for Mr Stink and the prestigious Le Prix Du Livre De La Jeunesse for Ratburger, so it comes as no surprise that countless broadsheet reviewers have compared David to his all-time hero, Roald Dahl. I have a few ideas on why this book didn’t work for me but it genuinely surprised me that I didn’t love this book. Robodog is more on the silly side of the Walliams book scale, but there are plenty of laughs for young readers.Ratty, the rat-mouse, also plays a monumental role in teaching Robodog, and thus also the readers, life skills and healthy perceptions, such as acceptance of those different from you and the value of friendship and loyalty.

David Walliams is a very popular children's author in the UK but I've been avoiding his much-lauded books because a) I've never found his brand of humour particularly funny, and b) I read his picture book The Slightly Annoying Elephant to my kids and none of us rated it. As much as I agree this is wholesome and sweet , it doesn’t have the charm of his initial books , I’ve already noticed a shift in the writing style and the illustrator , but I wanted to complete all of his work , atleast at the time I discovered him and I’m glad it’s all off my tbr. Robodog will nevertheless need all the assistance available to overpower the conniving cats determined to destroy him; Pavarotti, a cat so large that he flattens his enemies by sitting on them; Slash, the terrifying feline street fighter who is rumoured to have killed a pack of wolves; the wise old Codger and the evillest cat in the world, Velma.

Robodog is the hilarious new action-packed comic caper from David Walliams - due for release in March 2023. Another wonderful book from David Walliams, with a great storyline and really interesting and fun characters especially ratty, would love to read more of robodog and ratty's adventures, accompanied by gorgeous illustrations. These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. His debut children's novel, The Boy in the Dress, was published in 2008 to unanimous critical acclaim and he has since developed a reputation as a natural successor to Roald Dahl. The Chief turns to the Professor with an ingenious idea: a single dog that can aid in different police activities; a robot dog “Robodog”.