The tales of Mr Walker by Jess Black illustrated by Sara Acton

Look closely you can see the full title of this book is:

The Tales of Mr Walker - a hotel dog with a nose for adventure

A hotel dog?  In 2015 a dog called Mr Walker moved into the Park Hyatt Hotel. His original training was to be a Guide Dog but later it was decided "his larger than life personality was best suited to an ambassador role, where his affectionate nature would truly be able to shine."

There are four short stories in this book which would make a perfect family or class read-aloud. As the title suggests Mr Walker does have adventures:

Story One - Mr Walker at the Park
He is so excited to be going to a park with green grass, great smells and even other dogs. He doesn't find the park but he does make lots of new friends and begins to settle into his interesting life in the busy hotel.

Story Two -  Mr Walker and the Mystery Guest
A wealthy and very demanding woman arrives at the hotel as they prepare for an important function but for Mr Walker something does not smell quite right. Mr Walker needs to stop a possible
cat-astrophe!

Story Three - Mr Walker and the Garden Surprise
Mr Walker has an important role in a surprise marriage proposal but of course things do not go as smoothly as everyone hopes and Mr Walker needs to get everyone to look up because something bad is happening on the hotel roof.

Story Four - Mr Walker finds a Home
Well we know he had a home already but by the end of this last installment he absolutely feels as though he belongs at the Park Hyatt Hotel.

Image source: https://www.cachegram.com/u/saraacton_illustration

The illustrations in this book are just perfect. Take a look at all the books illustrated by Sara Acton. 

If you are looking for other books about animals, especially dogs, Jess Black has an impressive set of titles. 

If you like the idea of living in a hotel you should look for the classic books about Eloise and her amazing life at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. Another special series also based in a hotel are the Heartwood hotel books which feature a wonderful mouse called Mona.  You could also explore non fiction books about Guide Dogs such as this one by Diana Lawrenson. Since The Tales of Mr Walker was published in 2018 I am hoping it will be listed in our CBCA Notable titles which will be announced in late February. The Younger Readers section always needs books that appeal to children aged 6-8.