Smelly Peggy

From the creator of the How to Hide a Lion series, Helen Stephens, comes a hilarious, warm-hearted ode to pets.

This is a book about a very real life, very naughty dog called Peggy. Peggy loves to leap on the bed in the morning, sticking her hairy bottom in Dad’s face. Peggy that loves to roll around on everything stinky and smelly she can find: stinky seaweed; soggy, washed-up old wellies; and worst of all? POOP! And that’s not even the naughtiest thing she does… Do you think her family loves her anyway? Well, look at that little face – how could they not? A happy, big-hearted celebration about our much-cherished dog members of the family, despite their messy, noisy and very (very) smelly flaws.

This acutely observed picture book distils dogs’ unrepentant joy in stinky mischief, and their small owners’ secret delight. The Guardian
A happy, big-hearted celebration about our much-cherished dog members of the family, despite their messy, noisy and very (very) smelly flaws...This book is a funny and delightful picture book which pet loving adults and children alike will adore. I found this to be an utterly charming book and I highly recommend it for young children. Left on the Shelf
There is a lot to delight a young reader here: the dog knocks people over with a big stick on the beach; she rolls in rabbit poo and wipes herself on the little girl’s pyjamas... The reader is invited to sympathise with the dog and the child; an adult reader might look at the horrified adults with glee. Both in terms of style of illustration and family context we are very much in classic Bob Graham territory (Let’s Get A Pup! Said Kate or How the Sun Got to Coco’s House) in a cosy description of family life, and it is none the worse for that: the story raises important questions about socialisation and inclusion without being heavy-handed, and the story might even obliquely suggest the tolerance needed when a new member of a family arrives. The greatest design feature for me has to be the peritext, where Pie, the little girl narrator, first of all plays with a very accepting, biddable dog and in the endpapers copes with her cat-menacing dog who also chases Pie; a charming way of broadening the narrative without over complicating a story aimed at being shared with four and five year olds. Books for Keeps

Helen Stephens is an author, illustrator and picture book maker. She created the How To Hide a Lion series and many more books for children, including Fleabag and The Night Iceberg. Her books can be read in over 25 languages and have been selected as "Book of the Year" in The Guardian and The Times. Her work has featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and Uppercase Magazine. Helen lives with her family and their very own Smelly Peggy near the Scottish borders in Berwick. Find Helen online at helenstephens.com, on Twitter as @stephens_helen and on Instagram as @helenstephenslion.

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