Category: Children's Picture Book
Hardcover | 40 pages |979-8-90115-005-4
Trim Size: 8.5” H x 10.3” W
Publication Date: April 7th, 2026
List Price: $18.99 USD
Publisher: Starfish Bay® Publishing
Genre: Humorous Animal Fiction
Reading Level: Grade 3-4
Interest Level: Grades PreK-4
Guided Reading Level: N
Lexile® Measure: 590L
Accelerated Reader® Level/Poin: 3.4/0.5
When no one is home and no water is out, one dog must save himself from thirst.
It’s a scorching summer day, and Hugo the dog is home alone—with no water in sight. With no time to waste, he sets off on a solo mission to quench his thirst. From rubber gloves and a stubborn kitchen tap to a silent garden hose, every plan goes hilariously wrong. Just as Hugo is about to make a questionable choice, help finally arrives! Told in lively rhyming verse, Hugo’s Thirsty Day is a warm and funny celebration of resilience, resourcefulness, and the deep bond between pets and their people. The vibrant, playful, character-driven illustrations capture every comic twist of Hugo’s thirsty adventure.
Brooke Milne is an Australian audiologist and children’s author with a passion for rhyming. Combining her expertise in sound with a love of storytelling, she crafts engaging books that captivate young readers. Her stories are filled with playful rhymes and rhythms, supporting speech and language development while sparking curiosity in children. Brooke lives in Melbourne, Victoria, with her husband, two children, and two dogs.
Helen Flook is an illustrator from North Wales, United Kingdom. After graduating in Graphic Design from Norwich School of Art, she worked throughout Europe on archaeology sites and managed a RSPB center in North Wales. She later moved to Canada with the intention of becoming an illustrator. Now back in Wales, she has illustrated over one hundred books, including two of her own and one award-winning title in 2014.
Key Features:
- Uses playful rhyme and escalating humour to create a fast-paced, read-aloud story with wide appeal.
- Relatable tale for dog owners that blends comic mischief with emotional warmth and a satisfying ending.
- Expressive, vibrant, character-driven artwork captures Hugo’s dramatic highs and lows with comedic timing and visual energy.
Themes:
- Problem-solving and resourcefulness
- Perseverance and not giving up
- Self-reliance
- Pet care and responsibility (implied)
- Humor in everyday situations
- Relief and gratitude









