Whatnot Takes Charge

by Linda Newbery

Published 4 September 2006
A delightful story about one very loveable dog from Linda Newbery and Georgie Ripper for Egmont's red banana series. Whatnot the dog comes from a family of famous show dogs but he's never won anything. His owner, Tim, enters Whatnot in an obedience competition at the school fete. But Whatnot does not do well in obedience class as he is scared by loud noises. He's determined to do well on the day of the fete but a starting pistol scares him and he runs out of the competition ring. As he runs, he sees the fancy-dress relay runners and remembers that his father was a famous sheepdog. Here's Whatnot's chance to be a sheepdog! He rounds up all the fancy-dress runners and herds them into the tea tent, where they all buy Grandad's cakes. Tim thinks Whatnot has ruined the fete but Grandad is delighted that all his cakes have been sold. Whatnot is a winner after all! Red bananas are chapter books for newly fluent readers, suitable for NC Level 3 readers. They are carefully designed illustrated books for both entertainment and education, supporting children's understanding of how to read longer books.
Red bananas introduce similes and wordplay to encourage an understanding of more literary concepts.