Jon Katz understands dogs as few others do, intuitively and unburdened by sentimentality. His keen insights cut to the heart of the human-pet relationship - its immense joys and painful sorrows. With wisdom and grace, he unlocks the canine soul and the complicated wonders that lie within and offers powerful inights to anyone who has ever struggled with, and loved, a troubled animal

What distinguishes Katz's witty canine account from most others is his absention from sentimentality ... The adventures described in A Dog Year are the stuff of great fiction ... Part cautionary tale, part love story, A Dog Year reminds us that adopting a pet is a massive responsibility but one that rewards the owner with a rich, more meaningful life

Moving, funny ... a loveable mutt of a book

If there was ever a children's series generating fanatical, "cult" adoration, this is it. And deservedly so.

Few books are laugh-out-loud funny; fewer still are the children's books that have you stifling titters on the train . . . Uncle is a brilliantly sustained exercise in nonsense, played with the straightest of faces

Would make a great gift for literary eccentrics of any age

I think Uncle stuck with me because of its combination of excess, gadgetry and eccentricity - all of which are modes of being I have attempted to emulate in my adult life. I blame J.P. Martin

You ask any class "Who's heard of Alice in Wonderland" and up goes a forest of hands. Uncle is on the same level and should be more widely read and enjoyed

[This] beautifully illustrated picture book contains a moving message about love, loss and learning to accept change

Selected in Time Out's 100 best children's books