How to Bake a Sausage Dog

Fennymore Teabreak doesn’t go to school. He lives with a bicycle, Monbijou, which thinks it’s a horse. Since Fennymore’s parents (zany inventors) disappeared, his days consist of eating dachshunds with his aunt and nursing tummy aches for days afterwards. But when his aunt passes away and Monbijou disappears, Fennymore is feeling hopeless.

Fizzy, a freckled girl who lives in a supermarket, befriends him and they resolve to find Monbijou and investigate a suspicious old man that has been creeping around. They find out he is a powerful man of weak will who became embroiled in a plot to alter the life and health of Fennymore’s parents many years ago.

As Fennymore gets closer to revealing the truth, Fizzy is kidnapped and the fate of his loved ones hang in the balance.

It’s no surprise that this book won the Oldenburger Prize for Children’s Books. Reinhardt has created an irresistible world of surrealism: quirky details, alluring mystery and wonderful characterisation make this a must-read. The story is playful but the ideas of loss and feeling different are delicately explored and curious minds can also reflect on threads of social justice and philosophy, which are woven throughout.