Customer Reviews

Dogerella (Step into Reading)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a perfect retelling at just the right level for a child who is ready to read on his or her own. The writing is crisp and the sentences roll along so children are challenged a little bit but will not have trouble and will finish the book with enhanced confidence in their own reading skills. My nephews and nieces (six altogether, in four different families) ALL chose this as their "all-time favorite book". All-time? That cracks me up. Well, anything that encourages a love of reading is a-okay in my book! And this one does. I give it my highest rating.

As pug owners, we ordered this book on the basis of its cover (we know, we know). But this is one that lives up to its cover cuteness. There were several twists in the classic Cinderella story that made us laugh out loud when we were reading it with our first-grade daughter. Enjoy!

Super cute take on the Cinderella story. It is a favorite of my 3 yr. old and 6 yr. old.

The book was really cute. I have shared the book with several kids already and they all have really enjoyed the book.

My 7 year old grand-daughter read this to me over the phone and it was so precious!!! I especially liked the part about the minivan! A good read for any child!!!

I picked this up to read to my 3 year old daughter, so I have no comment on how it is as a learning tool for kids learning to read. Both my little princess and my 5 year old prince enjoyed this immensely, and I thought the book was adorable and a fresh retelling of a classic story. Loved it so much I will be buying copies for friends little girls. Sure to become a favorite in your household!

I loved this heartwarming story about a dog who wishes for a caring home and to be loved. What a darling spin on a classic fairy tale.

This book will leave you having to explain to your child why most of the characters in this book shouldn't be emulated. Boelts attempts to swap out dogs for humans in her adaptation of Cinderella, and in the process, creates a group of characters whose motivations are inexplicable and arbitrary.

Thus, Boelts creates a spoiled little princess who demands a dog for her birthday. Her mother, the Queen, rather than telling the Princess that she shouldn't have a dog because a dog is a special responsibility and requires effort and care to own, instead tells her daughter that she shouldn't want a dog because dogs are silly, hairy and go to the bathroom outside. When this fine bit of parenting doesn't dissuade the little girl, her parents relent.

Her father, the King, showing the leadership skills that will likely one day get his subjects to rise up and revolt, puts the resources of the kingdom behind a ball for dogs, so that his daughter can pick out a dog among the assembled guests. Bear in mind, the Princess is not an antagonist in Boelts' version, she plays the Prince Charming role.

At the ball, the petulant princess is unhappy when a roomful of dogs doesn't cause her to immediately bond with one. She pouts outside, encounters the protagonist, Dogerella, and forms a bond based on a five minute interaction between them. This is, sadly, the most heartwarming portion of the book.

Having formed a bond with Dogerella, the Princess nonetheless discovers Boelts' version of the glass slipper, a diamond-studded dog collar, and goes through the process of having dogs try it on to find out to whom it belongs. In the original Cinderella and the Disney adaptation, the glass slipper was used to help the Prince determine with whom the Prince had fallen in love at the ball, Cinderella having fled before the Prince could discover her true identity. In Boelts' version, Dogerella's identity is already known to the Princess and Dogerella sits there while the Princess has other dogs try on the dog collar just for the hell of it. I guess Boelts' message is, regardless of who you like, you better sure they have the appropriate bling before you befriend them.

Luckily, the Princess discovers that the dog collar does, in fact, belong to the dog she just befriended, so apparently all is right. In the end, Dogerella does get her princess, an entitled, narcissistic little girl who repeatedly feels sorry for herself because she has no sense of delayed gratification. Great message for young kids.

Boelts also uses a tired literary tool seen in adaptations of older children's stories, but generally used more adroitly; she throws a couple of modern references into her story, such as Dogerella's fairy godmother using batteries in her wand and trading the carriage in the original story for a minivan. These modern updates have no context and make no sense in that the rest of her story remains faithful to the period.

In a meandering book with a muddled message, these final inexplicable changes to the original story are keeping with the aimless way in which Boelts attempts to adapt a classic story but ruins it. The original message of grace trumping beauty is subsumed in a series of unexplained behaviors which will teach your child that 1) those who act meekly and with grace will succeed only if they are accepted by the upper class, 2) friendship is only diamond-necklace deep, and 3) little girls are entitled to what they want.

This book is a terrific training tool for parents who want their children to end up on an MTV reality show. Otherwise, avoid it at all costs.