Soltales Picture books by Ollie Ocean, ages 4 to 8
Book cover art: Max, a big Saint Bernard, sits in the village square with Luna the owl on his head, next to Niko and Shelly.

Three Paws, book 2

Three Paws: Max the "Wombat-Dog"

by Ollie Ocean · picture book · ages 4 to 8

Luna the owl has never seen anything like the giant, shaggy dog in the village square.

"Haven't you heard?" says Shelly, with a twinkle in her eye. "It's a rare Willowbrook Wombat-Dog!"

Now Luna is worried. Wombat-Dogs sniff out shiny treasures, and Luna has a whole box of acorn caps to protect. A giggly read-aloud about friendly tricks, big new friends and laughing together, in the second Three Paws adventure.

Get the book All Ollie Ocean books

Out now in paperback and on Kindle. The button opens Amazon in your country, where you can pick either.

Who it's for

A picture book for children aged 4 to 8. It's written to be read aloud by a grown-up to children of 4 to 6, and the pages are short enough for many 7 and 8 year olds to read on their own.

Niko tells the story again, in his own words. There's a line for children to shout along with, "It's a Wombat-Dog!": Shelly says it first, then Luna, and everyone together at the end. The new words to talk about are Saint Bernard, Switzerland, wombat and treasure.

It's a story about a trick that stays kind. When the joke is over, Shelly checks that Luna is happy with it, and Luna can't wait to play the next trick herself. A good one for talking about when teasing is fun for everyone.

There's no need to read book 1 first: every Three Paws book opens with a "Meet the Three Paws" page, so children can start with any of them.

What's in the book

The story runs across 12 double-page spreads, with a picture across every spread. It opens with "Meet the Three Paws", introducing Niko, Luna and Shelly, and at the back there are pages for grown-ups and children to share:

  • Did you know? Real facts from the story: long ago, Saint Bernards helped monks in the snowy Alps of Switzerland find travelers lost in the snow; wombats really live in Australia, where they dig long burrows; and wombat poop is square!
  • More Three Paws adventures. The series so far, and what comes next.
  • Free coloring pages. Where grown-ups can get the Three Paws coloring books, here on soltales.com.

Look inside

Three spreads from the book. The pictures are shown here without their words, which are in the captions.

In the village square, Niko the Cocker Spaniel, with Luna the pink owl on his head, and Shelly the squirrel look across at Max, a huge Saint Bernard sitting by the well.
Pages 10 and 11. In the middle of the square sat a giant, shaggy dog. He had a huge head, a big wet nose and a tail like a feather duster.
Max the Saint Bernard wags his tail and gives Luna a big lick under the apple tree, while Niko and Shelly giggle.
Pages 18 and 19. Slurp! Max licked Luna from her feet to her tufts.
Max sits by the well and talks to Luna, with a thought bubble of a real wombat digging a burrow, while Shelly and Niko listen.
Pages 26 and 27. "Wombats are real," said Max. "They live in Australia, and they dig the best burrows."

Format

Formats
Paperback and Kindle eBook
Pages
32
Paperback size
8.5 × 8.5 in (21.6 × 21.6 cm), square
Inside
Full color on every page
Ages
4 to 8
Language
English
Series
Three Paws, book 2
Paperback ISBN
979-8-16701-841-9

For grown-ups who read with children

Free Three Paws coloring pages

Four pages from Coloring Book 2: the color cover, the friends meeting the giant, shaggy dog, Shelly, Luna and Niko at the well shouting "It's a Wombat-Dog!", and Max licking Luna.

Max, Niko, Luna and Shelly, ready to color in. Join Ollie Ocean's newsletter and we'll email you three printable coloring books, in US Letter and A4: one from Max the "Wombat-Dog", one from How We Met, and an easy one with big pages for ages 4 to 5.

Get the free coloring books