Customer Reviews

Dog Brain

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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.

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").

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

It should be removed from the shelves. Words such as "Dumb" and "Idiot" are words that I don't want to hear my 3 yr. old calling anyone. Totally disgraceful for the young audience!