The Cheetah and the Dog by Patricia Furstenberg

Children's book reviews

What Amazon says

New 2019 Edition with added bonus: Amazing Cheetah fact, with adorable real-life pictures

Why do cheetahs need to live in the wild?
Why should cheetah hunt a bigger prey?
How were cheetah built to live in the wild?

A perfect gift, a story books for 3-5 years, a wonderful bedtime story for toddlers, a great read for grandparents.

“The Cheetah and the Dog by Patricia Furstenberg, like her other animal story books, is inspired by the real life story of Kasi the cheetah and Mtani the Labrador dog and their friendship. The story gives insight on the importance of friendship. Kasi and Mtani meet by accident one hot day on Africa’s wild plains.
Though they both looked different, they liked to chase each other and hide in the dust. One day while playing, they see a rabbit and they decide to run after the rabbit. Later they realize hunting can become boring and it is best to play and explore.
The author discusses the topic of friendship through this story, and tells readers how friendship can be fun and it is not about color, race, caste, and creed.
The concept of the book extends to young and old alike. Friendship has no boundaries and the author encourages readers to be like Kasi and Mtani, just smile and care.
The rhyming verses give the story a good pace and movement and introduce young children to rhyming words and how these can be used while writing poems.
The illustrations are wonderful and make the story vivid and the concept clear. The story is refreshing and delightful and Kasi and Mtani will win the hearts of all young readers with their remarkable friendship that transcends all boundaries. It is a good book for bedtime storytelling and is good for read aloud sessions in classrooms as it handles a relevant topic which is important to everyone.”
A 5 stars Readers’ Favorite Review

Read a cheerful story book with sweet rhymes that celebrates diversity and promotes friendship, sure to resonate with families – particularly non-traditional ones and with the fans of Michael Jackson’s “Black or White”.

When a cheetah cub and a puppy dog bump into each other while chasing the same prey, it is only natural for them to play together until sundown; and the next day; and the following one. The two animals care for each other so much that they even rescue their respective packs, thus becoming an African tale.

Inspired by the true story of Kasi, the orphaned male cheetah, and Mtani, the female Labrador, which struck a remarkable friendship and remained life-long friends, “The Cheetah and the Dog” is a glorious celebration of curiosity, respect for life, and unconventional wisdom, a heart-warming, fun read that belongs on any family’s bedtime shelf.

Similar books: “The Lion and the Dog”, “The Elephant and the Sheep”.
More books by the same author inspired by true African animals and acts of great bravery: Jock of the Bushveld, Huberta the Hippo, Vonk the Horse.

My review

The Cheetah and the Dog is a delightful rhyming verse picture book for young children. The main characters are a young cheetah, described as “the one with the speed”, and a young dog called Mtani. These two creatures of the African Savannah become close friends and learn to share everything, despite a lack of support from their older generations.

This is a book about friendship and acceptance of difference in others. Both the older cheetahs and dogs learn to appreciate the friendship which proves to be very useful to both groups.

This book includes some beautiful and colourful illustrations which will charm young readers. It also includes some interesting facts about cheetahs at the end, as well as some lovely photographs of cheetah’s in the wild.

Purchase The Cheetah and the Dog

Published by robbiesinspiration

Robbie and Michael Cheadle are co-authors of the Sir Chocolate series of books. We both like to write and bake.

77 thoughts on “The Cheetah and the Dog by Patricia Furstenberg”

  1. What a beautifully sounding book that promotes friendship and acceptance. So bright and colourful too, just the book to capture a young child’s imagination. Thank you for sharing Robbie, have a great day my friend.💛

    Liked by 3 people

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    1. Thank you for your kind words, Sue. I love folklore and true stories when I came across some extraordinary stories about various animals striking amazing and unusual friendships, I couldn’t resist. Just wished my children would have been younger when I wrote these 🙂
      Kind regards 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  10. Robbie, you have done a wonderful presentation of Patricia’s book. It is beautifully illustrated with an important message. As often is the case the message carries well for both children and
    adults. Meaning of friendship.

    Miriam

    Liked by 2 people

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  17. Although not in the market for a kid’s book you did an excellent job with this review. Maybe in a few years when the great-grandchildren start arriving, I’ll come back to it. This would make a nice gift for expecting parents.

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. Thank you, John. I appreciate your support. I recently read your author interview on Jill’s website. Thoroughly enjoyed it, as well as the comments, in their hundreds 🙂 Says a lot about your talent as a writer and your very supportive spirit. I treasure your note. 🙂
      Kind regards.

      Liked by 1 person

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      1. Thank you, Patricia. I have a very soft spot in my heart for children’s book authors. The delight raised in my own children makes me eternally grateful for the talent and dedication to the art. Reading to a child has to be one of the most pleasureable things about being a parent. Here’s wishing you all the best. 😊

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      2. Oh, this is such a kindhearted observation, John. Thank you 🙂 Indeed, some of my most treasured memories involve reading to my children (and daddy 🙂 ) at bedtime.
        I think children’s book authors have an awkward job. They tune their mind to that of a child’s imaginative inner world, they aim for a kid’s heart and his vast and candid space, yet they have to please the adult who mediates the acquisition of the said book.
        I wonder how Robbie feels about this 🙂
        Many thanks!

        Liked by 2 people

      4. Hi both, apologies for the late response. I had a big annual event for my paycheck job on Tuesday night which overflowed into yesterday. I do agree that the writers of children’s books need to be cognizant of the tastes of the purchaser of the book i.e. parents, grandparents and other caregivers. I wrote the Sir Chocolate series of books because I didn’t like many of the topics in modern children’s books and wanted to write something that was pure fun and fantasy along the lines of the books I loved as a child. I also wanted to give parents and caregivers some ideas for spending quality time with their children. Baking seemed the perfect answer to that.

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