The Unlikely Tale of Chase and Finnegan by Jasmine Warga illustrated by Vivienne To

“This is Finnegan,” Basma says to the security guard. “He’s our new cheetah ambassador dog.” Cheetah ambassador dog? Finnegan isn’t positive, but he’s pretty certain cheetahs are a type of cat. Why would he have anything to do with cheetahs? This must be a mistake. Maybe his nervousness is making him hear things.

It is very clear from the first chapter, where we meet Finnegan, that he is a stray dog and that he has been through some trauma with his previous owner, but Jasmine Warga uses so much restraint before using just one word to introduce her cheetah cub named Chase and reveal that she is living in a zoo - that word is enclosure.

Finnegan is rescued from the forest by Ryan. Ryan lives with Basma. Basma works at the zoo. Are you connecting the dots?

Jasmine Warga creates the most fantastic levels of tension in her book. There were times when I had to stop reading The Unlikely Tale of Chase and Finnegan so I could take a breath. Twice I anticipated that the storyline was taking me to a place of dreadful sadness. On page 80 I actually put this book aside and left it for a couple of hours. I was so worried about Finnegan and the bad choice he was about to make. It was tough to read all the ways Finnegan misunderstands his new family. It broke my heart when he thought their packing boxes meant they were tossing him away just like his previous owner Samuel. 

I am very conflicted about zoos and using animals to perform for visitors but putting those concerns to one side I love the relationship of Finnegan and Chase; I loved the way Finnegan describes or makes sense of the world and especially of human behaviour through his sense of smell; and the gently unfolding friendship between the young cheetah cub Chase and Finnegan. Listening to some of the birds in my neighborhood the other day I wondered if birds can understand one another. I am not sure if dogs and cheetahs can talk in 'real life' but as a reader I loved the way Chase and Finnegan share their own life stories and worries. Finnegan really cares about Chase - he gives her such a sweet nickname - Puffball.

The cheetah cub makes an odd noise. It’s not a meow. He thought she would meow because she is a cat. It’s a sound more like one a bird would make. It makes him want to laugh. He sticks his tongue farther out of his mouth, edging closer to her. “Your name is Chase?” She doesn’t answer. And she doesn’t make the chirping noise again, either. “How old are you?” he asks. The cub freezes. “You know I can see you,” he says. “Can you talk? Are you understanding me? I don’t know how to speak cat.” And then he adds, “Or bird. Are you speaking bird?”

I loved that Finnegan was a rescue dog with a hidden past; so many bad things can happen to dogs, and they can't tell their new homes about them! At least Finnegan can confide in Chase when his humans don't quite understand why he is so upset when they are packing up to move to a new home. Ms Yingling

At its heart this is a book that explores trust, communication, belonging, fear, self-doubt, and the ways we try to make sense of our world.

One of the strange things that happens to me when I read an eBook (on a Kindle or other device) is that I am reluctant to jump to the back of the book which is something I do with a paper book - reading the author notes either before I begin a book or while I am taking the journey. All the way through The Unlikely Tale of Chase and Finnegan I kept hoping that bringing together a cheetah and a stray dog would be based on real events - and (spoiler alert) yes, it is. 

Author Note: A few summers ago, I was visiting the Cincinnati Zoo with my daughters. We went to watch the cheetah run, and during the show, I learned about the practice of pairing cheetahs with rescue dogs. At some zoos across the country, cheetahs are matched with dogs to aid in their social development by becoming their playmates and companions. The dogs and cheetahs often become quite bonded as a result.

Blurb from the author page: Finnegan is a rescue dog with a broken heart. Chase is an anxious cheetah cub, newly orphaned. The two animals couldn't be more different. But one day, they are brought together for the unlikeliest of reasons: Finnegan must help Chase gain the confidence she needs to perform as part of an educational program for children at a zoo. Finnegan and Chase have each suffered losses and have trouble trusting. Yet somehow, they are just what the other needs. But if Finnegan isn’t able to help Chase overcome her fears, he won’t just be letting Chase down–he could be risking his new home as well.

The Unlikely Tale of Chase and Finnegan is a book to read and enjoy either alone, or in a family as a read aloud or as a shared book in a class. Because this book is very new and only available in hardcover (AUS$37-UAS$45) you will have to wait for the paperback to arrive here in Australia. 

I am not in favour of always dissecting and using a text to 'teach' things but there are some truly wonderful sentences in this book that you could share with a writing group:

His heart beats quickly beneath his rib cage and his belly rumbles. He shivers. The wind continues to howl, whipping and slicing and whooshing. The tree trunks bend and curve. With his paws, he digs to make space beneath a soggy log. He flops down, his belly resting on the wet, muddy earth.

Chase’s mother moves like liquid sunshine, like something molten instead of solid. It is mesmerizing to watch her.

Jasmine Warga beautifully describes all the different smells and the way Finnegan interprets them: 

His scent, which changed with his mood. But when he was happy, he smelled like oranges and soap. It was a good smell. The dog loved that smell.

The dog watches the stranger. His scent is soap and sweat. It is sandalwood and grassy soccer fields and chocolate cake.

He inhales the air. He smells the candle. He smells leftover food in the refrigerator. Mmm, he’s pretty sure it’s something cheesy. He loves cheese. Cheese is good. Cheese is happiness.

Finnegan has learned that Ryan, underneath all the spices, almost always smells faintly of chocolate cake, but the scent grows stronger when he is happy.

I picked up this book because Colby Sharp said it was fantastic! He is so right. 

Jasmine Warga sent Colby's Grade Five class 25 signed copies of her book.

An endearing, deeply moving story of healing. Kirkus Star review

"Jasmine Warga's brilliant and heartfelt storytelling made my heart soar. While spending time with Chase and Finnegan, words like friendship, family, connection, love, light, and joy kept racing through my mind. Most of all, the story filled me with HOPE!" ―John Schu, librarian and New York Times best-selling author of Louder Than Hunger

"An uplifting and heartwarming story about friendship and the way it can change lives for creatures great and small; sure to leave an impact long after the last page. Hand to fans of Katherine Applegate’s One and Only and Rosanne Parry’s Voice of the Wilderness series." ―School Library Journal (starred review).

Companion books:

The One and Only Ivan; The One and Only Bob; The One and Only Ruby; 

The One and Only family

Song of a Thousand Seas

Odder

The Way of Dog

Jasmine Warga recommends this book:

Jasmine Warga is such a talent - her books are all wonderful but also so varied.

A Strange thing Happened at Cherry Hall

A Rover's Story

Other words for home

Sharing with Wolf by Melinda Szymanik illustrated by Nikki Slade Robinson

"My favourite food is grass, with the occasional daffodil. My favourite season is spring and my favourite colour is green. What about you?"

"My favourite colour is silver, like the moon. And my favourite season is also spring, because there is plenty of my favourite food around. It's in my nature."

Think about the cover and end papers with your library group or young reading companion. The sheep has a knitting basket and (on the end papers) the wolf has a book with the ominous title "50 ways with Mutton". Throughout the book keep your eye on the knitting basket - it has some fun labels.

Wolf is looking for a housemate. Lamb arrives. 

"I'm a quiet sort who loves minding my own business. It's true I do tend to follow the flock, but my wool makes very nice sweaters and bed socks."

The answer from Wolf is a little surprising. He says he cannot share with a sheep because ... well he likes to eat sheep.

BUT Sheep will not take no for an answer. Warning the ending might SHOCK you! Perhaps Sheep should have stayed with her flock.

Here are the teaching notes from Scholastic. Here is an interview with the author and illustrator. The suggested age for this 2020 picture book (I borrowed it from a library) is 4-8 but I think older children are more likely to enjoy the fun and perhaps not be too upset that maybe that little sheep has just become lunch for the wolf. 

The Alligator's Mouth Award

The Alligator's Mouth is a bookshop in Richmond, Surrey UK. One day I hope to visit this shop which is filled with a rich collection of children's books. 

The Alligator’s Mouth Award was founded in 2018 by specialist children’s bookshop The Alligator’s Mouth in partnership with The Bright Agency. The aim of the award is to champion and celebrate highly-illustrated fiction titles for 6–8-year-olds – an important, and often overlooked, category of books that helps children build reading stamina and gain confidence at a crucial stage of their reading journey.

These shortlisted titles and winners' lists are very useful if you are looking for titles to add to your library. The library where I volunteer has nearly all of these books and many are very popular choices with the students.

Here is the current short list and some previous lists:

2026 Winner Bear and Bird: The Secret and other stories

• Bear and Bird: The Secret and Other Stories written and illustrated by Jarvis (Walker)
• Beastie Bros: The Cabbage Juice Crime written and illustrated by David O’Connell (Scholastic)
• Cat and Dumpling: Home Sweet Home written and illustrated by Nicola Kent (OUP)
• Croaky: Caverns of the Gemosaurus written and illustrated by Matty Long (OUP)
• Good Bits written by Kes Gray and illustrated by Ruby Wright (DK flip, DK Children's)

Read more about the Rabbit and Bear series

Read about Huxley and Flapjack

Read about The Girl who talked to trees

Read about the Claude series

Read about Harry Stevenson

Read about Hotel Flamingo

Read about Two Sides

At the Edge: Curious Creatures of Planet Earth by David Elliott illustrated by Clover Robin

I have heard of (but never seen) many of the curious creatures in this book but I am sure most will be unfamiliar to your library group or young reading companion: pangolin, platypus, peacock spider, axolotl, culper eel, maned wolf, pink fairy armadillo, aye-aye, makhor, cassowary, orchid mantis, black rain frog, and naked mole rat.

The text in this book is a series of very brief poems - one has only two lines! Every page turn is a surprise - revealing a close-up collage illustration of each creature.

Now where will you put this book in your library - animals [591] or poetry [811]?

Peacock Spider

When he romances

this spider dances.

In jaw-dropping hues

this jitterbug woos.

He wants her

spider heart

to thump

when she hears

his rumble-rump.

He hopes he will win her.

If not, he's her dinner.

I talked at length about David Elliott in this recent post.

Do you remember when the CBCA slogan was "Curious Creatures Wild Minds"? I penned seven posts with book ideas. This book would have been a perfect one to share. But put that one side. This is book published in 2026 will be a terrific addition to your school library.

If you have not yet discovered Clover Robin can I strongly urge you to seek out her books. Her collage illustrations are a visual delight.

Strays by Gia Gordon

"How could someone dump this sweet little dog onto the street? How could someone chuck him out the window like he was a bag of week-old McDonalds? How could anyone with half a soul look into those melting eyes and not want to fold him into a love-blanket, and take him home?"

Campbell is in Grade 6. She finds it hard to concentrate at school and she has a complex relationship with her almost silent father. He works for the city animal rescue centre, except this place is not really about rescue because stray dogs and cats are only kept there for three days and then it is her father's job to decide to euthanatize them. This partly explains why Campbell's father is so distant but other dreadful things have happened and these are gradually revealed through the story - her dad was a fireman and something went badly wrong when Campbell was having her fifth birthday party but even worse Campbell's mum left the family and then (spoiler alert) she was killed in a car accident.

Luckily Campbell does have a fabulous friend at school - a girl named Luz. Luz lives with her mum, dad and older twin sisters in a busy household but Luz does not have a perfect life either. Her dad has been serving in the army and over the last ten years has rarely been home with the family. As this book opens though he has returned from his deployment and his service has ended but he is suffering from dreadful PTSD and adjusting back into his own family is difficult.

Into this mix comes a small brown dog. Campbell witnesses someone discarding him:

"I'm not expecting a beefy man-hand to reach out the window holding a tiny, squirming dog. I'm not expecting that dog to drop out of the beefy-man hand onto the sidewalk. I'm not expecting the van to speed away. I'm not expecting that teensy flash of beige-brown to take off, chasing the van."

So we have some puzzle pieces for this story which Gia Gordon neatly puts together into a very satisfying conclusion but not a conclusion you will expect at all. 

I do also need to mention the fantastic school Teacher-Librarian in this story - Miss Alba. She is kind, she listens to Campbell and she gives very practical support and access to the most perfect resources as Campbell struggles firstly to keep this little pup she names Tater Tot safe and away from her father who would be sure to take him to the dog shelter; and secondly when Campbell needs help to work out how to transport the little dog to the other side of the country - I hope that makes you even more curious about this book.  IF I was going to do further study in the field of children's literature I think there is a whole topic here about minor characters who are helpful Teacher-Librarians like Miss Alba.

"Librarians are kinda awesome that way. Because she always makes you feel like she has all the time in the world to talk to you or help you out with something even when it's her lunch hour."

Campbell is grieving in this book and her friendship with Luz is tested - the ups and downs of their relationship felt very real. I also loved the way Campbell showed really good emotional intelligence about her father and also when she saw things were hard for Luz and her parents.

Here are some poignant text quotes:

"Nothing I've ever loved wants to stay with me."

"For the first times in a few days, I feel like I can take a deep breath and blow it all the way out. For the first time since my dad left firefighting, since her couldn't work for two years, and then became head of animal control, I feel like there may be answers to the problems his job only makes worse."

"I smooth my hand over his cute little head, fun my fingers down his overside ears. Even though he's dirty and full of dried leaves and twigs, his fur is probably the softest thing I've ever touched in my whole life."

"even though I had food for him, he mostly just wanted some love."

There is a sweet little expression in this story used three times - it was not one I had heard or read before - I sit crisscross applesauce. 

Bookseller blurb: Campbell Cole has a big heart for all living things, especially strays. It might be because her father, the director of the local animal control, is as aloof as they come, so Campbell knows what it’s like to feel alone. When she spots an adorable dog being dumped on the street, the last thing Campbell can do is tell her dad. He might take the pup straight to the shelter, where new rescues have just three days to be adopted. The only person she can trust with the truth is her best friend, Luz. The more time Campbell spends trying to catch the dog, the more he starts to trust her, which is both great and terrible because Campbell knows she can’t keep him. But perhaps she doesn’t have to. With the help of Luz’s father, an army vet grappling with PTSD, she just may find a solution that benefits not only the dog, but everyone else, too.

Gia Gordon’s Strays is a beautifully written, heartfelt novel about friendship, family, and finding the courage to stand up for what’s right, that will resonate with anyone who has ever struggled to find a place to call home. Gia Gordon

An insightful, well-characterized exploration of love and trust. Kirkus

Readers will be drawn into this accessible, emotional story. The Horn Book

I saw this book Strays in a bookshop on Saturday a few weeks ago. It caught my eye because I had seen it mentioned somewhere, plus I do like the cover, and I am a sucker for books about dogs. Bonus - this is a very new book so you will be able to find it in your local independent bookstore. I recommend Strays for readers aged 10+. 

Companion book:

A Handful of Stars

Earlier today I read a comment on social media that if you see a dog on the cover of a book it is sure to be a sad story and the dog will die! NO. Thank goodness that is never the case in the books I read for children aged 9+.  Here are a few I love:

One Dog and his Boy

Answers to Dog

Talking to Alaska

Something like Home

Here is another book by Gia Gordon:

One Sweet Song by Jyoti Rajan Gopal illustrated by Sonia Sanchez

A joyful celebration of music and community. Kirkus

Bookseller blurb: In a quiet neighborhood, a single note trills through the air. Another note joins, and then another. One by one, curious people are drawn to their windows, doorways, and balconies to support the medley. Professional musicians play instruments from around the world, while others bang pots and pans. All are welcome as the notes swirl and dip and crescendo, coming together to make one sweet song. And when the music fades and this diverse neighborhood is once again silent, the reverberations of unity remain. Written by a kindergarten teacher and inspired by the balcony singing in Italy during the pandemic—with a countdown from one to ten and back gently woven in—this rhythmic synergy of text and art is a buoyant, global-minded celebration of how music connects us, even in the darkest of times.

Do you remember some of the special parts of those Covid-19 lockdowns? I know it was a complex time but there were tiny moments of community joy such as people who placed teddy bears in their windows, chalk drawn games on the footpath, and shared music. 

Here in my street on ANZAC day, at dawn, someone played their trumpet and others joined in with sounds of the bird dawn chorus as an accompaniment - it was a magical morning.

In Italy and other countries people played music on balconies joining their sounds together into shared pieces and that is the premise of this story. As a bonus this book is a counting book one to ten and back again so it will appeal to very young children and many of the musical instruments are sure to be unfamiliar to your library group so there is also scope with this book for further exploration of instruments from around the world. AND you must link this book with the CBCA 2026 Book Week slogan Symphony of Stories. Instruments in this story: ghatam, flute, triangle, drums, cello, and a morsing. 

This lyrical counting book uses rhyme and color to celebrate the power of music and connection.  Rich vocabulary in charming couplets make for a delightful read aloud and the premise of the story is sure to inspire conversations about community and how to add more beauty in our everyday lives.  Vibrant, joyous digital illustrations depict a diverse group of neighbors of various ages and family units sharing their talents and instruments, and readers will love finding their favorite characters on each page spread.  YS Book Reviews

You can see more books by Jyoti Rajan Gopal here and other books illustrated by Sonia Sanchez:

Evelyn del Rey is Moving Away

The Paper Piano by Rachel Ip illustrated by Natelle Quek

Publisher blurb: When Noah hears beautiful piano music sweeping through the train station, he longs to play. Without a piano of his own, he carefully crafts one out of paper, and the notes fill his head night and day. Until finally, with the help of a neighbour, his musical dream comes true . . . An inspirational picture book about the power of perseverance and music, celebrating the joy that railway station pianos can bring to all.

Take a look at the labels I have assigned to this post - Piano (yes Noah hears a piano and then really wants to learn how to play. Other suggested instruments just won't satisfy him); Determination (his mum says he has to wait until he is older but Noah does not want to wait so he makes a paper piano); Kindness (thank goodness for the neighbour who has a piano and even better she agrees to help Noah learn); and finally Practice (Noah loves playing, but playing well is not an instant process. He is happy to practice and then one day he is also able to perform just like the person he originally saw at the railway station). 

Image source: Natelle Quek

I have the 'idea' of buying a piano on my own wish list. I did have one as a child. This sweet picture book makes me think I should act on this and stop dreaming. If you are gathering books to share with your library group as a way to explore the 2026 Book Week slogan - Symphony of Stories - make sure you add this book to your collection. It will be a perfect one to share with your younger students and then I would find some beautiful piano music to share as a way to think about the music that Noah hears, loves and then performs. You could also perhaps share some a short extract or two from the recent ABC and BBC television programs about playing pianos in public spaces.

Make sure you stop and notice the end papers - it's the handmade piano keyboard made by Noah. I found that image very poignant.

Here is some music for piano that I love that you might use with this book. Just play snippets to give your library group a soundscape to enjoy with this story:

Clair de Lune – Claude Debussy (video)

Gymnopédie No. 1 – Erik Satie (video)

Chopin – Nocturne in E flat major (Op. 9, No. 2) (video)

There are lots more you could share here.

Rachel Ip is an award-winning picture book author and author ambassador for Bring Me a Book Hong Kong, the leading family literacy charity in Hong Kong. Rachel was born in the UK and also lived in France and Belgium before moving to Hong Kong 15 years ago. The Forgettery won the 2022 English Association Picture Book Awards and The Last Garden was longlisted for the 2021 Klaus Flugge Prize and won the Crystal Kite Award for Middle East, India, and Asia.

The Forgettery

Natelle Quek is a Malaysian-born illustrator who grew up in New Zealand and now lives in leafy Southeast England with her husband, an apathetic cat, and a loud-snoring dog. Natelle currently focuses on children's illustration, in particular picture books, young fiction, and non-fiction. She loves to use bold colours and cinematic perspectives to draw audiences into her worlds. Here is her Instagram account.

I am Nefertiti

I am keen to see this book too