Dog Brain [Paperback]

David Milgrim (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1996 | Age Level: 4 and up

A young boy figures his dog Sneakers must be really smart to act so dumb.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Sneakers the dog would rather play dumb than play dead. When told to fetch or roll over, he shrugs; upon hearing the words "You're in my chair!," he points to a dunce cap on his head and stares pointedly at the TV. "I think he's faking it," says the young narrator, whose parents haven't caught on to Sneakers' act. Images of the smiling dog, who splashes in a pool heedless of the father yelling, "Hey! No dogs in the pool!", tend to support the "genius" theory of Sneakers as a canny canine whose feigned ignorance allows him to do exactly as he pleases. The author augments his rather thin premise by suggesting that Sneakers leads a late-night intellectual life at doggy cafes and movie houses; this amounts to a good-natured swat at human slackers, but doesn't advance the plot. Using dialogue balloons as well as straight text, Milgrim saturates each page with heavy shades of orange, royal purple, teal and blue, and works in big, bold shapes with thick black-ink outlines. The minimally detailed spreads are nicely composed and uncluttered, yet there's nothing fresh about either the material or Milgrim's handling of it. Ages 3-8.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 3?Sneakers may play dumb, but his young owner sees through the act. Fantasizing about the dog's double life, the narrator imagines Sneakers taking off after everyone is asleep, sipping coffee at all-dog cafes, taking in a poetry reading, and dancing wildly at all-night parties. The boy concludes that Sneakers is really a genius to let his people believe he is too dumb to follow any of their rules. Milgrim fleshes out the spare, large-print text with hilarious illustrations that feature the canine living out the boy's fantasy, while the adults chalk his misbehavior up to idiocy. The high-energy, cartoonstyle pictures are colorful and childlike. A perfect story to combine with Nina Laden's The Night I Followed the Dog (Chronicle, 1994).?Lisa S. Murphy, formerly at Dauphin County Library System, Harrisburg, PA
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Viking Juvenile (September 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 067086935X
• ISBN-13: 978-0670869350
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 0.9 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,769,328 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious; loved it!, February 21, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Dog Brain (Paperback)

Dog Brain is an extremely clever and witty book about a dog who plays dumb. I appreciated the humor, as did my children -- ages 6 and 4 (at the time I first read it to them). The illustrations are colorful and equally amusing. Dog Brain was one book I did not mind reading over and over (and over and over and over) again.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 2 1/2 A Good Premise, but the Wrong Tone, October 29, 2004

By 

M. Allen Greenbaum (California) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dog Brain (Paperback)

Ease up, "Publishers Weekly" (see its review above): Sneakers' late night adventures are not a swipe at human slackers! In fact, the dog is emulating some of the most common and enjoyable human activities (going to movies, coffee houses, etc.). There's even a precedent for this emulation: In Daniel Pinkwater's excellent "Bongo Larry," Larry the Polar Bear plays bongos and reads poetry in a beat-like coffee joint. These are not "slackers," they are the compadres of Ginsberg, Kerouac, Ferlinghetti, et al.

However, I must also agree with the reviewer who objected to the book's language. While I'm usually reluctant to criticize slang or "bathroom humor (see Dave Pilkey's "Captain Underpants" for an excellent example of the latter), the repeated use of the word "dumb" shows an intolerant, insensitive human father. The same point (that the father thinks the dog can't follow directions, but the son knows that it's a con job to get out of obeying the rules) could have been made in a different way. For example, Milgrim could have shown frustration or anger or resentment without the name-calling. In this 29-page book, the word "dumb" is used three times in the first 5 double-paged scenes. The tone is all wrong for a light-hearted book like this, especially when the dad calmly says "wow, what an idiot." He says this while observing the dog running (on two legs!) with a net after a butterfly--a pretty skilled activity for man or beast. Then, in the book's "message," the boy says he's not fooled by Sneakers' duplicity: "I know a genius when I see one." This does not make up for the scornful tone in the preceding 28 pages; it rings false, as if Milgrim concluded with some "warmth" to make the book more appealing.

There are many good unconventional children's books available: Books that break the rules, both through illustration and theme. Milgrim's overblown black ink and gouache pictures, with their explosive colors and informal written dialogue, are very good. However, there are many imaginative, non-traditional authors and illustrators who adopt a more appropriate and consistent tone when dealing with nonconformity, defiance, or misbehaving (e.g., almost anything by Pinkwater, Rosemary Well's "Max and Ruby" series, Dav Pilkey's "Captain Underpants," Roddy Doyle's "The Giggler Treatment," Nicole Rubel's "Rotten Ralph").

1.0 out of 5 stars Not for young children, June 27, 2007

By 

Super Mom (Knoxville) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dog Brain (Paperback)

It should be removed from the shelves. A book that uses "dumb" and "idiot" is not appropriate for young children.