Children's Laureate 2001-2003
Carnegie Medal 1989, 1992
Whitbread Award 1993, 1996
Guardian Fiction Award 1990
Ruggles is a dog for all seasons.
Spring, summer, autumn, winter... each provides plenty of opportunity for him to go roaming in this delightful dog's-eye view of the changing year. He's not as young as he used to be but he still knows exactly what he wants - and how to get it. But even an adored pet with wanderlust in his blood can tire of adventuring when there's a chill in the air outside and a warm hearth indoors...
Glorious pictures by Ruth Brown, one of Britain's best-loved children's illustrators, perfectly capture the roguish charm of award-winning writer Anne Fine's intrepid and endearing hero.
A picture book for dog lovers and roving explorers of all ages.
"Get inside the head of a determined old dog called Ruggles. Hear the minute-by-minute motivations for leaving home and thwarting the attempts of his owner to keep him in. An extra-high fence all around the garden won't stop Ruggles, with his Colditz-style focus on escape. Once out, Ruggles goes about his business running, weeing, and relaxing on the grass in the park, pinching a French loaf from the baker's and burying it back in the garden. The words are in the first-person, in a clipped, immediate style that, along with the funny and well-observed illustrations, give the reader an insight into the life an unsentimental shaggy dog."
Alison Boyle, Nursery World magazine
"With these vigorous, very painterly, beautifully observed illustrations, full of detail and incident, and a lively, reflective text written from the dog's point of view, this is a picture book with wide appeal."
Books for Keeps
Ruggles by Anne Fine, illustrated by Ruth Brown, is a picture book for younger children. It was published in hardback on 27 September 2001 and a paperback edition was published on 20 February 2003.