The Backward Bird Dog [Hardcover]

Bill Wallace (Author), David Slonim (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1997 | Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

What's a Bird Dog to Do?

Everyone knows a bird dog leads with his nose. Everyone but J.C. After all, what's a pup supposed to think when he's welcomed to his new home by a cat who thwacks him on the nose with his claws...a dog who bites him on the nose...a bee sting on his you-know-what and a mad mamma bird who attacks the sorest part of his body with her beak? Poor J.C. All he wants is love...cuddling up to My Justin...a good tummy-scratching by My Bill and My Carol. J.C. wants to make his new family proud. But how can he point with a nose everyone wants to attack? There must be a better way...

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Bill Wallace grew up in Oklahoma. Along with riding their horses, he and his friends enjoyed campouts and fishing trips. Toasting marshmallows, telling ghost stories to scare one another, and catching fish was always fun.

One of the most memorable trips took place on the far side of Lake Lawtonka, at the base of Mt. Scott. He and his best friend, Gary, spent the day shooting shad with bow and arrows, cutting bank poles, and getting ready to go when their dads got home from work.

Although there was no "monster" in Lake Lawtonka, one night there was a "sneak attack" by a rather large catfish tail. Checking the bank poles was not nearly as fun or "free" after that point, but it was the inspiration for this story.

Bill Wallace has won nineteen children's state awards and been awarded the Arrell Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award for Children's Literature from the Oklahoma Center for the Book. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover
• Publisher: Perfection Learning (August 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0780776100
• ISBN-13: 978-0780776104
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,364,903 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny and fanstic, May 23, 2001

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The BACKWARD BIRD DOG PAPERBACK (Paperback)

Summary: This book is about a little bird dog who gets a home with Justin. Then the puppy get scratch by a cat, bit by a dog stringed by a bee,and peck by a bird. When he started growing up he started to point backward to protect his nose. Opinion: I think this is a very good book because this little puppy doesn't want get his nose hurt so he point backwards instead of frontward. I think it was very funny too because when his noes was sore it blew up like a balloon. Character:The character in this book are Justin who is a little boy,Bill who is the father Carol who is the mother ,and J.C who is the main character because j.c is the dog. Bill Wallace had won 17 state awards on this one book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BACKWARD BIRD DOG, March 27, 2003

By 

Re'Shawana (Bellflower, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The BACKWARD BIRD DOG PAPERBACK (Paperback)

...This book is about a dog named J.C. He is a bird dog and everyone knows that this kind of dog leads with its nose. J.C. is welcomed to a new home where a cat whacks him on the nose...a dog bites him on the nose...a bee stings him on the nose...and a momma bird pecks him on the nose. All he wants is love and be appreciated by his new family. But how can he point with his nose when everyone is trying to attack it. There must be a better way. I guess this is what happens when you are curious about everything.The part that I liked was when everyone wanted to always attack his nose. Like the first time he saw the cat. "I mean it." His lip curled. "you come any closer, I'm gonna rip your nose off."I mean J.c. wasn't even doing anything to the cat and he gets angry for no reason. "Oooouch! I squealed. "That hurt! You really did...you ripped my nose off."Another part that I liked was when the bee stung him. The bee was getting some pollen from the flower and J.C. asked "Are you getting something to eat? Are you playing down there?" The thing was that the bee didn't even talk. "Yipe,yipe,yipe," I cried and jumped back. The bee had stung him on the nose and it really hurted him. My favorite part was really everything. Because it was very funny and exciting. J.C. was a curious dog who was very confused when it came to certain things. Like when it came to his nose, he always wanted to sniff things and that's why his nose always got hurt. He liked to searched different areas and go on adventures. I guess you can't always be curious about everything you see or hear.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great Book!, August 13, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The BACKWARD BIRD DOG PAPERBACK (Paperback)

I don't know how somebody would not give this book 5 stars.I read this book for the first time when I was in 2nd grade. I'm now in seventh and still read it once a year.