Arf: A Bowser and Birdie Novel

By: Spencer Quinn

Narrated by: James Frangione

New York Times best-selling author and King of Canines Spencer Quinn is back with the next Woof book.

Bowser Is Back!

Bowser the dog is doing great. He's been adopted by Birdie, the greatest girl in the world, and he gets lots of love, lots of walks, and sometimes even bacon!

But why is Birdie looking so worried? Who broke into their house? Why is the new girl in town digging into the old mystery of what really happened to Birdie's dad, a policeman killed in the line of duty?

Bowser better keep his ears perked and his paws at the ready. A murder case that went cold long ago is fixing to get way too hot.

Woof, the first Birdie and Bowser book, debuted on the New York Times best seller list, and Bowser is back with all his signature charm (and slobber) in Arf!

©2016 Spencer Quinn (P)2016 Scholastic Inc.

Loved it

I'm a huge fan of the Chet and Bernie books...and now Birdie and Bowser too. Frangione is the perfect narrator as well.

Always a pleasure

Always a pleasure to listen to Birdy's and Bowzer's adventures! Great narration, great writing, such well developed, interesting characters. This is the second book and I still love it!

Arf

Bowser & his favorite person in the whole wide world, Birdie, tackle another dangerous adventure. Birdie’s house is broken into but apparently nothing is stolen. Birdie’s mother is home now after losing her job with the oil company & her bedroom was the room most in disarray. A lot of questions of a cold case & another murder get solved with Bowser & Birdie being hailed as heroes. A nice listen!

A Barking Good Tail

Just the right amount of fur and fun makes for a suspenseful, quick listen tale. Arf Arf!

Mama's Home!

Birdie's mother comes home from her rig job and the action does not stop. Quinn brings an entire gambit of emotional experiences and grit in this second installment of Bowser and Birdie. Memories of Birdie's father make the Gauex women misty-eyed a time or two. The personalities in this episode collectively deliver a wide range of feelings that dig deep to the core, including a load of the happy, laugh-out-loud sort from none other than Bowser. The Louisiana backdrop and references to bayou cuisine continue to awe and wet the appetite. Be prepared-- the crime factor ratchets up a few notches in this one. Frank Francine remains a master of his craft and true compliment to Spencer Quinn.

Enjoyable, but more intense than Woof.

My 9 and 5 year olds enjoyed both this and Woof (I was pretty entertained, too). This book was darker at times, with several murders, descriptions like "he walked up behind the man and shot him in the head", and a murder victim's body being recovered from a lake. Had I known that going in, I might not have let my 5 year old listen. But overall, these are very enjoyable stories. Being told from the dog's point of view sets then apart from other kids books we read. The narrator's performance was excellent.

Not just for kids

As an elementary librarian, I'm constantly looking for books that I can recommend to my students. I was delighted when I stumbled across Woof, the first in the Bowser and Birdie series, as an Audible subscriber. I bought Arf as soon as it was released. I like these stories so much that I'm always sad to reach the end. The combination of writing and narrating makes these stories among my favorite "listens," which are appropriate for kids and adults alike. (I bought the actual books for my son!) Adults will also like the Chet and Bernie series.

Best kids road-trip book

I enjoy this book, it entertains the kids, even as they get older. Bowser and birdie are such great characters…I hope he returns to the series again:)

Even better than the first book

Now that we have a good sense of Birdie and Bowser the story line is much better and the unfinished story line has been resolved. Looking forward to the next Birdie and Bowser mystery adventure.

juvenile story, good for 4th graders

Don't get me wrong, I love Spencer Quinn and the dogs he has created. I like Birdie and I like Bowser. But since Birdie is 11 years old, her thoughts and conversations are elementary school stuff. It got a little tiresome in the middle, but the wind-up and end were great despite the convenient, near-preposterous take down of the bad guy.

The end was also great for the deep-story resolution, and the characters developed. I wonder how much more Birdie could poke her nose into in this little bayou town; will there be more mysteries she can solve? If she really does keep going, it will be hard to make the books of adult interest, but I would have loved them as a kid. Quinn does a wonderful job with dog psychology and ideation, so I hope he can come up with more cases! And, of course, James Frangione knows how to speak dog; he is just delightful.