Home Alone Harry by Jerry Rhodes and Rachael Messiter illustrated by Nicky Hill #Review

Home Alone Harry is a Children's Picture Book aimed at ages 3-6. The book is bursting with vivid, colourful illustrations and uses a rich vocabulary. The aims of the book are threefold: to delight readers, to show through the story how the Thunkies cartoon characters help the family realise that dogs don’t think like humans, and to reveal the wisdom of respecting the dog’s world-view.

The educational substance of the book arises from the research and teaching of its two authors. They demonstrate that we can learn to understand how dogs really think even though as humans we all think differently. The registered names of the research are Amichien® Bonding and Thunkies®.


Harry is a mischievous young dog, adored by his family, Dad and Mum, Maisie (8) and Max (5). When the family leave him on his own he creates chaos. Dad demands, "That bad dog must go!" Alone and sad in bed that evening, Max asks, "Can anyone help?" How will the Thunkies respond to his call?


This is a bright and colourful, glossy picture book, with bold illustrations and a good use of think bubbles. Even the youngest reader will respond to the plight of Harry, the pet dog who is left home alone. There are lots of opportunities to talk through feelings and it will be a good starting point to think about other points of view. Encouraging empathy and thinking skills, it would be a good addition to an adult's arsenal in encouraging mindfulness and talking through behaviour. It illustrates how by changing one's actions and thinking about an event from someone else's perspective, behaviour can change in positive ways. 

Cat and Mouse say: listen to the Thunkies!


 
About the Creative Team




Jerry Rhodes’ life-long research and teaching is the inspiration behind ‘Home Alone Harry’, this first book in a series for children featuring the cartoon characters, Thunkies®. After completing his degree and teacher training at Oxford University, Jerry’s career as a school-master was cut short by polio. He changed course to a management career in industry, discovered his talents for creativity, and formed his world-wide consultancy to collaborate with international organisations. A special project with Philips led to the discovery of ‘Thinking-Intentions’, to which he has now given the playful name, Thunkies®. Jerry writes his books from his weather-beaten old farmhouse in the Gloucestershire Cotswolds.



Rachael Messiter, a Dog Listener, uses the approach known as Amichien® Bonding pioneered by Jan Fennell. Rachael has her own practice, Talking Paws, based in Staffordshire. Previously she lived with wolves for close on two years in Colorado, USA, to learn how packs work. She has identified a group of issues that dog owners experience that are due to the well-meaning but flawed behaviours of owners, rather than ‘nuisance’ dogs. How to properly avoid and resolve such troublesome issues will be the theme of each book in the series Thunkies® love Dogs.



Nicky Hill is an illustrator and storyteller from Winterbourne near Bristol. Her artwork is featured throughout the Thunkies® Love Dogs books, bringing a bright, vibrant style that captures the imagination. A great lover of animals both wild and domestic, Nicky also illustrates and writes her own series of books about ‘The Wotton Pack’; a group of inquisitive pooches who spend their days and nights having many adventures. She currently lives with her own pack of three dogs in Wotton-under-Edge, a small town in Gloucestershire, where she also co-runs the shop called ‘The Collective’.

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Thanks to the authors and Rachel of Rachel's Random Resources for a copy of the book and a place on the event. 

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