Scout's Best Day Ever!

Whimsical … Scout’s excitement for adventure jumps off the pages through the amusing illustrations and the boundless sense of spirit in the writing. This friendly canine recounts his holidays by postcard to his friend cat, narrating that every day in a new destination is the ‘Best Day Ever!’. Bursting full of fun little facts and observations about Ireland, its inhabitants and the landscape through the eyes of one vivacious pooch, this book is ideal for the animal lovers and the adventurists

* Irish Examiner *

As a parent: Illustrations are fab! Each double spread page has so much oral language going for it. We keep seeing new things each time we read it! The 3 year old kept spotting new things and this made her feel connected when we were reading it. Like mini stories within the story…we had a full chat about what the red octopus might be doing on one page! Her brother is senior infants so he was spotting plenty of high frequency words from school but she loved the repetition of ‘Best Day Ever’ phrase as she could join in with that. The children recognised some of the places from our pre-Covid trips around Ireland and it was lovely to root out some photos and look at them alongside each destination. There were some lovely discussion points within the story where we chatted about whether Scout should have stolen the sausages or gone off into the sea so far by himself. Lots of lessons to be learned! My 3 year old Ava-Rose was able to read some of the facial expressions of the cat and announced that he is ‘Not Impressed because he’s left behind’ so we had lots of chats about why cat may have been left. In my opinion you could easily do one destination per night for story time and get so much out of it.

From a teacher and education point of view it links in with many subjects including, of course Geography, and the addition of the map and red dot showing where they were visiting would be a great talking point within a classroom. I would have no problem using this with children in class up to 1st or maybe even 2nd class as it provides so much scope for oral language development. The illustrations are amazing and even the inclusion of a postcard would be a great starting point for writing in junior classes even up until 2nd class. I could see teachers using it to expand the idea of where might Scout visit next…or if he visits us what would he see? This is a truly great book to be used at home or in the classroom and it is timeless with its illustrations and snippets of Ireland! Bord Fáilte should be promoting this book!!

Gráinne Nugent, 6th class teacher St Brigids Primary School, Kildare

* Seomra Ranga *

I love it. It’s all the places we go! The pictures are amazing! Not just the Best day ever…the best book ever! Alex, aged 6

It’s lovely and the dog is lovely and goes on his holidays. I like the pictures and the story Ava-Rose, aged 3

* Seomra Ranga *

The new picture book from Westmeath-based Jennifer Farley, author-illustrator of 2018’s Island of Adventures … Scout’s Best Day Ever! features a cat, called Cat, who stays true to its breed and remains aloof while the rest of the household members are preparing to head off on holiday around Ireland. Scout, the family dog, on the other hand, is quite beside himself with excitement at the prospect of a car journey, and promises to send a postcard every day to the stay-at- home feline. First stop for the holidaymakers is Cork (where else?) where the humans enjoy a spot of shopping at Brown Thomas and Scout practises howling along with the buskers on Patrick Street. “Best day ever!” declares Scout in his postcard sent home to Cat, but when the next day brings a trip to Thomond Park for a rugby match, the enthusiastic dog’s second postcard also reads “best day ever!” Hiking in the Wicklow Mountains, herding sheep in the lands, and investigating megalithic cairns at Lough Crew in Co Meath — each experience is the best day ever, according to the dog’s effusive correspondence... The cat’s indifference makes a perfect foil for the effervescence of the madcap Scout, who could build a convincing case for being given a job with Bord Failte … places less commonly featured but equally worthy of inclusion, such as Donegal’s Inishowen peninsula and Fermanagh ’s Marble Arch caves, are given equal prominence in this woof guide to Ireland

* Evening Echo *

There’s so much more happening in each destination than in the text that is captured in Farley’s lively, bright illustrations. Children will love picking out the details and ‘reading’ the extra story elements using the pictures. A good book to share or for slightly older readers to tackle for themselves

* Irish Independent *

It’s hard to resist the madcap enthusiasm that the irrepressible Scout brings to every page that he bounds across … the illustrations are bright and colourful, full of movement and motion, as Scout never stays still for long … young readers will enjoy spotting all the different dogs on each page; the pictures are vivid, entertaining and full of detail … this is a cheerful book that gently showcases a family with Dad as the main caregiver at the centre of a story that celebrates the fun that can be had just by hanging out with our favourite people

* Inis Magazine *

Illustrations filled with imaginative detail, happy mishaps and the joy of friendship and homecoming … brilliant adventure story

* LitVox *

Another lovely Irish book, especially good for taking on your staycations is Scout’s Best Day Ever!: A Doggy Adventure Around Ireland by Jennifer Farley, featuring Scout, the family dog, who is super excited at the prospect of going on a road trip around Ireland. Every stop is the “Best day ever!” as they head to Thomond Park for a rugby match, to the Wicklow Mountains for a hike, to the megalithic cairns at Lough Crew in Co Meath and Fermanagh’s Marble Arch caves. Children will love picking out all the details on every page. A good book to share or for slightly older readers to tackle themselves

* Sunday Independent *

this is the most perfect book, esecially for this year...goes to some of the most amazing places we have in our fabulous country...beautiful

* Caroline Busher, Ireland AM *

It’s hard to resist the madcap enthusiasm that the irrepressible Scout brings to every page he bounds across. Daisy is going on holidays with her dad and her dog, Scout, leaving Gran at home. They send a postcard from every place they visit as they tour Ireland’s vibrant towns and cities and enjoy activities in places of natural beauty. This cheerful book gently showcases a family with Dad as the main caregiver and celebrates the fun to be had just by hanging out with our favourite people.

* CBI Deliver the Joy of Readi