posted on 26 May 2020

Charlie Star by Terry Milne

I’m not doing this to shock but the rules of full disclosure require me to tell you -  and I’m aware this sets the review off on entirely the wrong foot - but…. I’m not a fan of dogs. In fact, I’m not a pet-of-any-kind person. So, I think you’ll agree it seems a bit perverse to think that I’m the ideal person to review Charlie Star by Terry Milne which has a loveable dachshund as its central character.

But despite my ambivalence towards dogs, I find myself loving the book and unexpectedly in total sympathy with Charlie. You see, like me, Charlie likes life to be orderly and doesn’t do well if his well-established rituals are disrupted. In fact, this is a dog with all the symptoms of an obsessive/compulsive disorder because he not only likes things to be orderly but fears that disaster will descend if his rituals are disrupted:

“Charlie did everything the same every day. He was afraid something terrible  would happen if he didn’t.”

At the end of every day he would lie on his back and think through how it had all worked out, ticking off all his actions and confirming that he’s made sure everything turned out okay.

And then early one morning the phone rang and when he answered it his friend, Duck had some bad news – their mutual friend Hans was stuck and Charlie’s help was needed. In a complete fluster he dashed out - but forgot all about his rituals and started to worry that he’d have to start his day all over again to ensure there were no disasters.

But there was no time for that – Hans needed help because as a result of a game of hide and seek he was jammed head-first in a log and couldn’t go in or come out. But fortunately, Charlie is a smart hound and he hatched an ingenious idea to solve the problem that required just one thing…….a feather.

You’ll have to read the book to discover what the cunning solution was but it’s not only Hans who benefits from the escapade because Charlie learns an important lesson – the way the world works doesn’t depend on rituals. In fact, sometimes it’s the changes in your routines that can have the most thrilling and exciting outcomes.

Produced in a generous landscape format with lashings of lovely illustrations, you can get your copy of Charlie Star from the excellent Old Barn Books and while your local independent bookshop remains closed, you can order it directly from their website. 

Terry Potter

May 2020