Pinkerton, Behave! Book Review

One of my back-to-school read aloud choices is the funny picturebook, Pinkerton, Behave! by Steven Kellogg.  The book is celebrating its 35th year with an anniversary edition.  I LOVE Steven Kellogg's character, Pinkerton!  My family even has a dog named after the character. 

Family Dog, Pinkerton

Pinkerton, Behave! has the great Dane trying to follow simple commands without much success.  Pinkerton will jump out the window when told to come or lick a "dummy" burglar when told to get him.  Pinkerton is taken to obedience school where the same commands are given and Pinkerton still misunderstands them.  The instructor of the school is very strict and warns Pinkerton's family that he needs to improve or be kicked out.  Well, the same commands are reviewed and this time ALL the dogs follow Pinkerton's actions!  Oh no!  That night, Pinkerton's skills are put to a test when a burglar comes to the house.  How will Pinkerton save the day?  You have to read the book to find out.

This story is such a great way to introduce students to the three types of reading: read to self, read the pictures, or retell the story.  The illustrations help tell the story, which makes it necessary for students to see the whole book first.  The story also works for predicting because Pinkerton repeats the exact same actions for each command given.  It's a silly book that has students giggling throughout.

Book cover image from http://www.penguin.com/book/pinkerton-behave-by-steven-kellogg/9780803741300

To Understand What Loving a Dog Means

Recommended for Grades 3-6

I’m just going to come straight out and say that I almost stopped listening to the audio book of Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles right in the middle of the story.  Reason being is that if I think an animal in a story is dead or is going to die, I can’t handle the story—I shutdown.  I have an overwhelming emotional pull when it comes to dogs and I can’t even walk through the Humane Society without crying. 

Wiles’ protagonist, Comfort, has a dog named Dismay, who is all love and loyalty.  The climax in the story is when there is a flash flood that Comfort, her cousin Peach, and Dismay get caught in.  Dismay is swept away in the flood waters, but Comfort has this eternal hope for him that kept me listening to the book.  And yes, I yelled at the book when that suspenseful scene ended—“Did she just kill off the dog?!  I CAN’T believe she would do that!  I will never read another Wiles book.  Well, maybe she didn’t…. (denial with a false sense of hope, oh goody…)

Comfort’s family owns the town’s funeral home and so she has grown up surrounded by death, but it hasn’t created a dysfunctional family, if anything it bonded her family.  The family’s motto is, “We live to serve,” and that they do.  Each family member acted as a team player.  Comfort has to face loss that she wasn’t expecting in the beginning of the story, when her Uncle Edisto and Aunt Florentine pass away.

I love all of Wiles' characters, but Comfort Snowberger steals the show and rightfully so—she writes her own “life notices” (her version of obituaries), her spot to ponder the world is her closet, she has to live with and accept that her best friend has become a ‘mean girl’, be annoyed by her little cousin Peach, and work through her grief. 

She becomes lost in a world unfamiliar to her without the ones she loves, even if her mother, father, and brother are still there for her.  She ends up taking her grief out on Peach, who is so innocent (even if whiny and over-dramatic), that he still chooses to adore and be Comfort’s shadow whenever he can.  And when I say over-dramatic, I mean in the ‘have to stop Aunt Florentine’s viewing because Peach decided to attach himself to her IN her casket and bawl the words, “Come back!”’

The search for Dismay changed both Comfort and Peach.  And I have to say that Wiles has written an endearing tribute to dogs and their humans, as well as family.  I’m very satisfied that I finished the story.

Wiles, d. (2005). Each little bird that sings. Orlando, FL: Harcourt.

A Dog’s Purpose

Recommended for grades 8 and up

You know you’ve got a good book in your hands when the flight attendant has to say, “Hello?! Excuse me!” to get your attention (apparently, I missed the only rows that had seats left).  Hey, can I help that I was that engrossed in a book?!  The guilty book in question was A Dog’s Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron.  For those that don't know me, I’m a dog person—100%!  In my family we have two dogs, Coco, who we spoil because she’s just so darn SWEET and Niko, my dog, who is just plain spoiled--it helps that he’s cute ;)  Both dogs are big time tail waggers (my family calls it “helicopter tail”) and their smiles are contagious. :)

Anyway, now that you’ve probably figured out just how spoiled both dogs are since I just gushed all about them, I’ll move on to talking about the book.  A Dog’s Purpose is written from the dog’s view point—in fact, you get to see the protagonist reincarnated several times.  It’s really quite brilliant the way Cameron writes a dog’s take on life.  The protagonist remembers his previous lives, so he applies his prior knowledge to his new situations.  The protagonist starts his life as Toby, a feral dog.  Eventually, Toby and his mother and siblings are caught and taken to what I first assumed (or was hoping) was once a rescue shelter, but ended up turning into a hoarder’s kennel.  Toby is not long for that life and is euthanized.  When he awakes he is reborn a golden retriever.  In this life, a woman rescues him from the verge of heatstroke and brings him home for her eight-year-old son, Ethan, who names the dog Bailey.

Bailey’s story is the one that stuck with me—because to read just how happy a dog could be and how he “shivered” with delight from the love and affection that radiated off “his boy” is so heart-wrenching and joyous at the same time.  The story of Bailey with the Montgomery family plays out with some drama.  Ethan has to deal with a troubled boy named Todd.  Bailey can sense darkness from Todd and feels when his anger radiates off him.  There are several incidences throughout the book that involve Todd and students could make inferences based off what Bailey senses.  The Montgomery story also involves trips to the “Farm” to visit Grandma and Grandpa (one of Bailey’s favorite places), a first love for Ethan, Bailey playing “rescue” Ethan from the pond, and Ethan going off to college.

Soon though, it is Bailey’s time to go (yes, I cried)…especially at this thought from Bailey, “…I hoped he wouldn’t cry over my death.  My purpose, my whole life, had been to love him and be with him, to make him happy.  I didn’t want to cause him unhappiness now” (p. 177)…  Bailey soon woke up to discover he was now Ellie.  Ellie was trained to be a search and rescue dog.  Then when Ellie grew old and was put to sleep, soon the protagonist was Bear.  I wasn’t expecting the ending, but if it wasn’t for the fact that I was sitting next to two strangers on a plane, I would have cried.  A good joyful cry because there really couldn’t have been a better, more true-to-life, feel good ending to a book about a dog.

Good for teens who liked Marley and Me by John Grogan!

Cameron, W. (2010). A Dog's purpose. New York, NY: Forge.