101 reasons to read it. Review on Hundred and One Dalmations, The - Dodie Smith

This is a really good book for children. The book tells the story of Mr. and Mrs. Dearly and their two dogs Pongo and Missus. In time, Pongo and Missus have 15 puppies of their own. Since Missus cannot feed 15 puppies they have to find another dog that will act as a mother to the puppies too. One day, while driving in the rain, Mrs Dearly nearly runs over another dog that turns out to be a female Dalmatian. This dog was dumped in the road by the farmer after he has just sold the puppies that she had. The Dearlys' name her Perdita (means the lost one in Latin).

One of the Dearlys’ neighbours, is an evil lady called Cruella De’ Ville. She likes furs of all kinds, the more exotic the better. She expresses an interest in Pongo and Missus’ pups but is told that the puppies are not for sale. Cruella De’ Ville wants to make fur coats out of Dalmatian puppies and has been secretly buying and stealing puppies over a period in order to kill them for their fur. She needs Pongo’s puppies and resorts to stealing them. Pongo, Missus, Perdita and the Dearlys are obviously very upset. Pongo, however vows to find the puppies and rescue them.

Pongo and Missus use the twilight barking (which is a string of dogs that pass messages to one another during their evening walk) to try and find news of their puppies. Through the network they find a Sheepdog who has seen a lot of Dalmatian puppies being held in a house in the country. Pongo rightly guesses that this is probably where their own are. Leaving Perdita behind, Pongo and Missus set out to rescue their puppies. Once they reach the house in the country they realise that there are several more than 15 puppies. There are in fact 97 puppies in total either bought or stolen by Cruella De’ Ville, who are due to be turned into fur coats very soon. It is now up to Pongo and Missus with the help of an old Sheep Dog and a Cat and various other friends to rescue the puppies and return them to the safety of the Dearlys’ home.

The book is very well written and is easy to read. There are enough twists and turns in the plot that make it interesting. Besides the main animal characters there are various other human and animal characters and the way in which they interact has been cleverly worked. It is probably best suited for kids between 5-11. Disney has also made it into a successful film. I liked the book as a kid and hopefully based on this review some one else might like it too.