posted on 17 Mar 2021

The Dog that Saved the World (Cup) by Phil Earle

For people of my vintage, the dog Pickles was the other star of England’s 1966 triumph in the football World Cup. When the Jules Rimet trophy was stolen from a display case in a central London exhibition hall in March 1966, a few short months before the competition was due to start, it was Pickles the plucky mutt who found it wrapped in newspaper and hidden under a hedge. So Pickles saved the day and the blushes of the only host nation to have lost the solid gold cup.

Phil Earle’s sensitive and delightful story channels the spirit of that 1966 canine hero into a new Pickles, a four-legged footballing fanatic who is the narrator of this more contemporary story. Our doggie story-teller lives with young Elsie and her dad and he’s very proud of his footballing skills and is absurdly cocky when people in the park stop to watch him practice his ball skills. Luckily for Pickles, Elsie is also football crazy and plays for her school team and they get over-excited together when its announced that the next World Cup competition will be held in the UK.

However, life’s not all footballing joy for Elsie and Pickles because her dad is really struggling to make ends meet. He’s worn out and worried about how his terrible job selling double-glazing on commission can possibly keep the wolf from the door. And when he loses even that job then the family face the problems of potential homelessness. Dad does his best to shield Elsie from the realities of poverty but simply being upbeat doesn’t buy football kit and boots and when the school team gets the chance to win a visit to the World Cup final, will Elsie and Pickles really be able to go?

And then fate steps in. The World Cup is stolen. It turns out that it’s time for Pickles to fulfil his destiny… But, of course, that’s where my storytelling ends because you’re going to want to read exactly how it all turns out for yourself.

Phil Earle is a talented writer and he handles the issue of a family living on the breadline with great understanding, sympathy and realism. I very much enjoyed the device of using the dog as the narrator because it enables us to see the human drama from a slightly quirky perspective and provides the chance for there to be some nice humour that threads through the story and keeps it constantly upbeat.

The book is published by the ever reliable Barrington Stoke in their ‘super readable’ series and is guided for those aged 8+. Order it from your local independent bookseller or go directly to to the Barrington Stoke website.

Terry Potter

March 2021