Dog Squad 2: Cat Crew - Softcover

Grabenstein, Chris

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0593480899 ISBN 13: 9780593480892

Verlag: Random House Children's Books, 2023

Inhaltsangabe

Do you love DOGS? Do you love CATS? Do you love ADVENTURE? Then put your paws together for DOG SQUAD, the hilarious crime-fighting middle-grade series from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library!

When trouble calls . . . it’s Dog Squad to the rescue! But when calamity rings . . . bring in Cat Crew!

Fred, the lovable stray who became the star of the hit streaming sensation Dog Squad, is back and working on a new show—Cat Crew! But wait a second—there’s something funny about these felines! And something suspicious about their animal trainer. Is this cat crew being electronically controlled?! And what exactly is the evil trainer plotting? Can Fred save the day . . . and the cats?! It's time for an all paws on deck top-secret rescue mission!

Get ready for book 2 in this action-packed middle-grade series that has kids (and canines) howling with laugher! Nothing's too ruff for the Dog Squad!

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

CHRIS GRABENSTEIN is the bestselling author of the Mr. Lemoncello, Welcome to Wonderland, Smartest Kid in the Universe, and Dog Squad series, as well as the coauthor of many books with James Patterson, including Katt vs. Dogg and Max Einstein, and Shine!, cowritten with Chris's wife J.J. Grabenstein. Chris lives in New York City.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

1


DOG SQUAD

EPISODE 3.15

“EIFFEL TERRIBLE”

SCENE 24

Ext. the top of the Eiffel Tower.


The diabolical villain known as Cattywampus has stepped in one too many piles of dog poop on the sidewalks of Paris. It has made his soul bitter. His shoes stinky.

Cattywampus has vowed to eliminate all the dogs in Paris by turning the sightseeing telescopes on the observation deck of the 1,063-foot-tall iron tower into dog-seeking sizzle guns.

“It’s time to grill the hot dogs!” he shouts to his minions, a brigade of Parisian alley cats who despise dogs even more than Cattywampus does.

The cats meow maniacally and leap up to their perches on the high-tech weapons. They wrap their claws around the triggers, awaiting the signal to fire.

Meanwhile, the Dog Squad--Duke, Nala, and Scruffy--continues its mad dash up the 1,665 steps to the top of the Eiffel Tower.

“Nothing’s . . . too . . . ruff . . . for . . . us,” pants Scruffy, the crew’s scrappy, wisecracking terrier.

“This is pawful, Duke,” says Nala, the world’s bravest and boldest border collie. “Those beams will French-fry every dog on both sides of the Seine!”

“And we’re dogs!” barks Scruffy. “I don’t want to be fried to a crispity crunch!”

“Well, mes amis,” says their heroic leader, Duke, his noble head rimmed with golden light, “when trouble calls . . .”

The three canine crusaders pause their ascent to proudly proclaim, “It’s Dog Squad to the rescue!”

Suddenly, a wild-eyed mass of tangled fur leaps out of the shadows with its curled claws extended.

“Yipes!” yips Scruffy. “Cat attack!”

“You two deal with these henchcats,” says Duke, hurtling up the staircase. “I’ll deal with Cattywampus on my own!”

Meanwhile, at the top of the Eiffel Tower . . .

The ray guns thrum as they gain power.

“When do we destroy all the dogs?” hisses an angry cat.

“Soon, my fine furry friends,” chortles Cattywampus, rubbing his mittened hands together. “Soon!”

“How do we know we won’t accidentally hurt any cats?” asks a fraidy-cat dangling off one of the weapons.

“Don’t get hiss-terical, Monsieur Fromage! I have designed these weapons purrfectly. They will target only dogs.”

“Wait just a doggone minute!” shouts Duke, leaping onto the observation deck.

“Drat!” snarls the villain in his thick French accent. “It is Duke. The heroic leader of the Dog Squad. He thinks he can save the world! ‘Ha!’ I say. Go home to America, you filthy fleabag!”

“Sir,” says Duke, “I don’t like your cattitude!”

Duke races around the deck, barking ferociously, scaring the evil minions, who turn tail and flee. Cattywampus can do nothing but shake his mittened fist at the sky.

As the ray guns power down, the cats seek safety by climbing the tallest thing they can find: the antenna at the peak of the Eiffel Tower.

Their fur slightly ruffled, Nala and Scruffy join Duke on the observation deck.

“Looks like you treed those kitties just in time!” says Nala.

“Guess somebody better call the fire department to come rescue ’em,” cracks Scruffy.

“No,” says Duke nobly. “We will assist these cats in their descent, just as soon as we deliver Cattywampus to the proper authorities. For they aren’t bad cats. They simply wound up in the wrong furever home.”

The music swells.

The scene ends.

The audience cheers.


2


“And cut!” called the director. “That’s a wrap for this location and a wrap for Paris. We’re heading home!”

The film crew applauded and congratulated each other.

“Good job, mes amis,” said the French actor playing Cattywampus, giving Fred, Nala, and Scruffy each a head pat. “It was an honor to work with you.”

Fred played Duke, the beloved leader of the number one streaming sensation, Dog Squad. Nala and Scruffy had been with the show from the start. Fred had only joined the cast about six months ago. He took over for the original Duke, who could’ve been Fred’s identical twin (except that the lightning bolts of white fur on their foreheads slashed in opposite directions).

Sometimes Fred couldn’t believe what an incredible journey his life had been. From an abandoned, unloved stray searching for scraps of food in an alley to a star in less than a year.

People all over the globe cheered the heart-racing, tail-wagging adventures of Scruffy, Nala, and their fearless leader, Duke.

But now, when the cameras and lights were off, Fred didn’t feel like Duke. He was just Fred. A dog perched at the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, his legs quivering. He wanted to close his eyes because he was up SOOOO high, and Fred, it turned out, was SOOOO afraid of heights.

“Hey, Fred,” said Scruffy. “What’s wrong, pal?”

“I’ve never been up this high before!” Fred admitted.

“Yes you have,” said Nala. “Yesterday. When we filmed the first half of this sequence.”

“But yesterday, I was Duke. When I’m pretending to be Duke, I can pretend to be brave. But now? You heard the director. It’s a wrap. We’re all done. I’m not Duke anymore. I’m just Fred.”

His limbs shook so violently, Fred feared he might rattle the tower’s girders loose and make all their rivets pop out. The whole Eiffel Tower could fly apart and tumble to the ground!

Eep! He hoped he didn’t faint.

Jenny Yen, the famous animal trainer who had adopted Fred, Nala, and Scruffy (and more than three dozen other talented dogs), came over with a fanny pack full of treats.

Scruffy gobbled his down in a flash. Nala sat in a confident pose and waited patiently for Jenny to present the treat in her palm.

“There is power in pausing,” Nala said calmly. “And wisdom in waiting.”

Scruffy rolled his eyes. Nala spent her off-seasons herding goats at a goat yoga retreat.

“You were such a good boy,” Jenny said to Fred, “you deserve two treats.”

But Fred wasn’t hungry. In fact, just the thought of eating THIS HIGH OFF THE GROUND made his stomach lurch. His tail drooped.

“Wow,” said Jenny. “Looks like somebody’s pooped.”

She turned to the crew.

“You guys? Let’s get these three downstairs. They’re worn out.”

“No wonder,” said the director. “They were awesome!”

“No,” said Leo Espinosa, the show’s writer and producer. “They were pawsome!”

Jenny clipped a leash onto Fred’s collar and led him to the elevator landing. One of her assistants escorted Nala and Scruffy.

Fred dared to look down. At Paris. The people looked like ants. The cars like beetles. His legs went all wobbly again.

Fred would need to ride two different elevators to make it down to the street. One from the top to a floor with a restaurant and more panoramic views. Another from that floor to the ground-level exit.

Both elevator cars were open cages! You could see everything as you flew up or...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Random House Children's Books
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2023
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0593480899
• ISBN 13: 9780593480892
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 304
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: gpsr@libri.de; gpsr@libri.de; ; Friedensallee 273; Hamburg; 22763; Deutschland