Charlie Keeps His Promise and Other Animal Stories

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

Charlie is a cat who runs away from his new home. Gilbert is a goat who
runs away from his old home. Lassie is a dog who does not mean to run
away from home, but ends up in the dog pound anyway. Snoopy is a cat who
stays home and ends up in the drier. Rusty the cat and Benjamin the
bunny are both on their way home when they get hit by a truck and a car
, respectively.

These are some of the themes explored in this collection of short
stories. According to the author, the characters are all based on real
animals she has known. Unfortunately, none of these stories is well
written. This is a sample line from the story of Gilbert the goat:
“Gilbert was happy because he was helping to bring happiness to girls
and boys and Moms and Dads everyday.”

The prose is not helped by dreadful layout and production. Cynthia
Post’s illustrations are consistent with the quality of the prose. Not
recommended.