Rudi Hooper's Super Pooper-Scooper

Rudi Hooper's Super Pooper-Scooper by Alan Horsfield (Big Sky Publishing)

 PB RRP $12.99   ISBN 978-1-925675-16-0

Reviewed by Stacey Gladman

In the small town of Sandbar there is a big issue, and it's a little bit on the nose - poop. Well dog poop to be exact.

One day Rudi Hooper manages to ride through dog poop and gets in trouble by his mum. The whole encounter sets him on a course to clean up Sandbar, which just happens to be competing in the Tidy Towns scheme.

Taking his problem to council, Rudi soon finds himself appointed as Sandbar's "official doggie droppings ranger" and he sets out to clean the town of its dog poop problem once and for all.

Rudi's brother, Morris, is rather perturbed by the role and soon notices a problem with the idea. While Rudi is cleaning the town, dog owners aren't getting the idea of it being a problem, and instead see Rudi as an answer to their problems and there is soon more poop than before.

Rudi Hooper's Super Pooper-Scooper is an interesting story which involves some key issues for young readers - aged six to 10 years - including civic responsibility and following through on an idea. I particularly enjoyed watching Rudi expand on his ideas on how to best to pick the poop up and using his inventive ideas on how to pick it up easier and faster.

An interesting book with a completely different subject matter which I think will appeal to children and parents alike. The humorous idea, coupled with an easy to read writing style, will help engage young readers and create more than a few laughs along the way.