'Pickles the dog and his owner Elsie love football more than anything. So they can hardly believe it when Esie's team get the chance to play at the World Cup final at Wembley! But life off the pitch is tough, especially when Esie's dad loses his job and they have to move. So when disaster strikes and Elsie's dreams of playing at Wembley are shattered, Pickles decides that it's up to him to save the world (cup).'
Inspired by the real world events around the theft, and subsequent finding, of the World Cup in 1966, The Dog That Saved The World (Cup) is a lighthearted and engaging story about football, but it also has an engaging and emotional story underneath it, as a family struggle with unemployment and homelessness.
The story begins following Elsie and her family, her dad and her dog Pickles. At first I thought that the book was going to be from Elsie's point of view, but very quickly things started to stand out as being a bit odd with the narration. What at first seemed like Elsie's excited talk about loving football quickly turned into the surprise reveal that the book is actually written from the point of view of Pickles himself. Now, I'm an animal lover, so any book written from the point of view of a furry member of the family is going to win me over straight away.
Not only does this point of view offer readers a somewhat unique perspective on the story, but it also means that we get to see and hear things that we wouldn't know if the book were written fro Elsie's point of view. Things like her father staying up late worrying and looking sad over letters from a man named Bill, or how he puts on fake smiles when Elsie comes home from school, smiles that she doesn't realise aren't 100% real, but that Pickles does.
You see, despite trying to give Elsie a happy life, giving her the only bedroom, taking her to play football every week, and making sure she's always entertained, her dad is struggling to get by. He's struggling to sell at his job, and the family is getting poorer by the day. He's even began to let himself go hungry so that his daughter gets more food.
Despite these growing troubles Elsie is still a happy girl, especially when her football team gets the chance to enter a competition to play at the World Cup final during half-time. With the help of Pickles, complete with his own uniform, the team impress the judges with their skills and win. Meaning they get to go to the World Cup and play at Wembley. This is a dream come true for Elsie. Unfortunately, this is also the point where things begin to change for her.
Her father, having not sold anything in weeks, loses his job; which means that they can no longer stay in their tiny flat. Now the three of them have to move across London to an old office block that's been turned into one room flats for people who are struggling. This is where Elsie begins to realise how bad things have been going, as she, her father, and pickles, sleep on mattresses on the floor of their single room, surrounded by dirty, decaying walls, and loud, sometimes scary neighbours. But it's not all bad, as they do make friends with another family there, and Elsie has the World Cup to look forward to. However, when the trophy is stolen as it's touring the country it puts everything at risk, as the people in charge of the World Cup say that without a trophy the competition will come to an end.
This is the last straw for Elsie, and she finally breaks down saying 'I'm scared, Dad. I'm scared of living here. I'm scared about money. I'm scared about what we're going to eat and how we're even going to look after Pickles. I'm scared of everything, Dad. I just want to go back home.' It's a scene that's genuinely heartbreaking to read, and one that almost brought me to tears. But luckily for Elsie Pickles hears this too, and makes the decision that he's going to look after his family and make Elsie happy, by going out and saving the World (Cup).
I'm not a big sports fan, and football really isn't my thing, so I wasn't sure what I was going to get with this book. I was kind of expecting a book that made football it's focus, and whilst it does play a large part of the narrative it's not what the book is really about. This book is about family. It's about the love that exists between a parent and their child, and dog, and the things that they will do to keep each other safe. Elise's dad tries to be the voice of comfort and positivity for his daughter, even when he's starving himself to keep her fed. He never once breaks down or gives up in front of her, he never lets her see how badly he's coping.
This love, this willingness to keep going and to try and protect the ones you care about is also what motivates Pickles, and set him out on his journey to try and find the Wold Cup trophy. He's not doing it for fame or fortune, he's doing it because his family is hurting and he wants them to feel better.
Sadly, this kind of narrative, of a family struggling to live, having to lose their home, giving up their comforts, going hungry because they can't afford food, isn't just something that only happens in fiction. This is a very real reality for a lot of people in the UK right now. Unemployment has increased thanks in part to the pandemic, and more and more families are having to use food banks and other services to help them survive.
If you've got a child of your own there's probably a pretty good chance that they know someone who's living through something like this, that they have a friend who's family are struggling. Or perhaps that's even their own family. Either way, seeing more stories that address this, that feature families that are struggling is important. It's important because not all families have a happily ever after, and kids need to see themselves reflected in their fiction. They need to see characters that are struggling like them, yet are still able to find happiness and joy in the world. And those that aren't in that kind of situation need to learn about others that are, so that when they encounter people who are struggling they can empathise with them, rather than ridiculing them.
The Dog That Saved The World (Cup) might have a nice story about football and a dog who does something amazing, but I think it's more important than that. It's not just a story to read, enjoy, and never think about again. It's a story that is relevant to so many people in the world right now, people who need understanding and help. If this book helps even one child understand how difficult things are for others, if it inspires them to be kind, or even do something to help others it's not just a kids story, it's something that could help change the world for the better.
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