Customer Reviews

Mister Dog: The Dog Who Belonged to Himself (A Little Golden Book)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I first read this book to my son when he was about 5. He loved the illustrations and laughed like crazy at the pictures of the dogs with their tongues lolling out of their mouths. We continued to read this book for many years. Now my son is 22 and he really does belong to himself. I asked him recently if he had patterned his life on the ideas in Mister Dog. He didn't even have to think before he confirmed what I always knew. This book's emphasis on self reliance and love for another is just that powerful. A must!!!

I knew this would be a good book, when I saw it was written by Margaret Wise Brown. It proved to be true. I immediately fell in love with Crispin's Crispian, and his little home and life. The illustrations are charming. The story tugs at your heart upon seeing a little boy all by himself, fishing.... But you have to read the rest to see what happens. Don't go into this story with too much of an analytical mindset. It is just a wonderful children's story, that will be read again and again.
It would make a wonderful bed time story, as it is happy and magical in a way. It definitely has an old fashioned sweetness that I just love. I am just thrilled that Golden Books have decided to release some of their old classics. I was starting to worry their for some time, when I had a hard time finding Golden Books like these in the stores. I loved it, and would highly recommend it.

My two-year old daughter--an avid "reader"--cannot get enough of this book. It's the first book that she's ever asked for over and over again on a continuous loop.
In a nutshell, Mister Dog (aka Crispin's Crispian)--who belongs to no one--befriends a little boy who belongs to no one and they decide to live together in the dog's 2-story doghouse. Don't even try to reason the story, but at [$$$] you can't go wrong. And besides, what's not to like about a pipe-smoking, straw hat wearing dog?

This book has been one of my favorites for years, so I was delighted that Golden re-released it this spring. (I've located abridged versions in anthologies, but here the story is intact.) This dog "who belongs to himself" and "dreams his own dreams" won my heart at an early age and stuck with me. Crispin's Crispian is both self-reliant and connected to others -- a terrific combination. Like his work in other books (including "Charlotte's Web," the Little House titles, and "Ride A Purple Pelican"), Garth Williams' illustrations are outstanding.

"Mr. Dog" (the original title of this book) is one of my favorite books of all time, read to me as a child (1950's) and read to my own children. Written by Margaret Wise Brown (who herself had a dog named Crispin's Crispian), and illustrated by the great Garth Williams, Crispin's Crispian the dog who belonged to himself) is an independent, kindly, grown-up pooch who walks (mainly) on his hind two legs, wears an old bathrobe and slippers, eats bread and milk for breakfast and likes strawberries. He lives in a two-story dog-house surrounded by a white picket fence, dogwood trees and dog-tooth violets, with a kitchen, dining room and bedroom upstairs. (I assume he lets himself out when he "needs to see a dog about a man"). A kindly soul, he befriends and "adopts" a "boy's little boy" who (before the days of child welfare police) also belongs to himself. The boy and Crispin's Crispian bond, eat a home-cooked dinner together and fall asleep in their own little beds and "dream their own dreams." It's the story of a perfect day, innocent friendship and love at first sight.

As for the critics of this book: Give me a break! Do you live in a yurt? So what if he smokes a pipe? He doesn't wear pants, either. Furthermore, dogs eat MEAT, not tofu. Mr. Dog also likes raw eggs. And the Boy's Little Boy balanced his meal with a "bright green vegetable" and even gave some to Crispin's Crispian to put in his bone soup. I'm sure Mr. Dog's bread was whole grain and his milk skim, and he probably purchased the strawberries he so liked from his local organic farmer's market. Moreover, he bought his bone from his local butcher (not Winn Dixie) and took it home in a brown paper bag (not plastic). If you want to cultivate good and balanced eating habits (dairy, grains, meat and leafy green vegetables), and support local growers, then I'd give this book "two paws up" for intelligent and responsible life choices.

The only draw-back to this edition is that some of Garth Williams' illustrations are missing from the original and the book is "abridged" (the book doesn't contain the wonderful line "So they played together, and the boy threw him sticks to chase all through the shining, sun-drenched morning" or Williams' two-page illustration of this magical moment. Golden Books has done this with a number of re-issues for reasons I can't fathom.

I adored this book as a child, and so did all of my family. I can still remember asking my mom, "What's a conservative?"
It continues to delight all of us. I'm 56, my mom is 84, my brother is 54. I just finished reading my brother's copy aloud to the three of us and we were all as charmed by it as we were 50 years ago.
Margaret Wise Brown's writing and Garth Williams's illustration make this an enduring classic. I'm glad I was reminded of it in time to send a copy to each of my own grandchildren and their parents.

One of my favorite stories from childhood, I got this for my nephew for Christmas. Written by the author of 'Good Night Moon', it tells the story of a dog who belonged to himself and the boy who came to live with him.

The drawings are warm, the story fun, and will appeal to younger children.

"Mr Dog: The Dog Who Belonged to Himself" is a fondly remembered book from my childhood. Originally published in 1952 (when I was 5) it stayed with me because it is about a dog named Crispin's Crispian. My first dog was named Christmas (Chris for short) because I got him as a Christmas present at about the same time. I'm sure the book played a role in my early reading and stuck with me because of the similarity of Mr. Dog's name to that of my first dog. The style is simple and the story is charming, if somewhat scandalous. Mr. dog, a bachelor, lives in his own two story house and runs his own life. The boy's lineage and situation is less clear, but by chance he comes to live with Mr. Dog in Mr. Dog's house. Presumably, this stuck a chord with me and led to my eventual search (in 2009) for the book. The search is a story in itself, but suffice it to say that I did not remember the actual title of the book -- only that it's main character was named (I thought) "Crispin's Crispin". Searching for that string turned up a Wikipedia entry on "Crispin", about saints Crispin and Crispian, of whose existence I was previously unaware. Scanning the article, I found a footnote about the book and learned of my faulty memory as to the title. I did not expect to find the book still in print but was delighted to find that it was recently reissued as a "Classic". The story is as fresh and original today as it was in 1952 and might conceivably lead a child to "thinking outside the box". Highly recommended for beginning readers.

This was my favorite Golden Book from my children's large Golden Book collection. It is the title I chose for my first grandchild's first Golden Book. I like the illustrations and Mr. Dog's statements about being a "conservative" and liking things just a certain way crack me up!

I don't think many modern readers will pick up the Little Golden Books because of their great plots, since they don't have any. The story's OK and nothing really happens. The artwork is top notch, though, and that's the real reason to give these a look. I was also overcome with the urge to say "That's MISTER Dog to you!" when looking at the cover.