Skunkdog [Hardcover]

Emily Jenkins (Author), Pierre Pratt (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 29, 2008 | Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

Dumpling is a dog of enormous enthusiasm, excellent obedience skills – and no sense of smell. She doesn’t care about flowers, garbage, or any of the other smelly things most dogs enjoy. As a result, Dumpling has no dog friends. With a useless nose, she can’t relate. Dumpling is lonely . . . until she and her people move to the country. And then the good dog has to choose between obedience and friendship – with a skunk!

Ridiculous, touching, and a little bit disgusting, Skunkdog, with its lively storytelling and comic pictures, will spark conversations and giggles.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

The creators of the delightful That New Animal (2005) employ a similar level of empathetic tale-spinning and endearing character art in this story of a dog named Dumpling, who is missing the crucial canine heightened sense of smell. Poor Dumpling finds it hard to relate to her fellow pups, and when she and her family move to a house near the forest, doesn’t even realize that the skunk she keeps trying to befriend is repeatedly leaving her with a rather pungent gift. Even as her family scrambles for the right concoction to rid her of the smell, Dumpling persists in chasing down the skunk again and again. Finally, charmed and assured by the dog’s persistence and warmth, the skunk relaxes and accepts the offered camaraderie. The lessons about loneliness and the, well, dogged pursuit of companionship are charmingly realized without any heavy-handedness, and young listeners are sure to enjoy the humor in clueless Dumpling’s smelly predicament. Preschool-Grade 2. --Jesse Karp

Review

"Pierre Pratt's pictures of the befuddled, oblivious Dumpling are utterly endearing." —The Wall Street Journal

 

"Children will instantly relate...Important themes of loneliness, tolerance, friendship, and family emerge from this funny story. It will enrich storytime and linger long in the minds of young readers and listeners." —Starred, School Library Journal

 

"The relatively long story has a strong narrative voice with rich language . .  Pratt’s paintings use bold strokes and deep hues against the background of brilliant green grass, with blurry shadows adding a dreamlike quality to Dumpling’s story." —Kirkus Reviews

 

"The lessons about loneliness and the, well, dogged pursuit of companionship are charmingly realized without any heavy-handedness, and young listeners are sure to enjoy the humor in clueless Dumpling's smelly predicament." —Booklist

 

"This newest dog-driven story from Jenkins and Pratt proves again that author and illustrator are brilliantly simpatico." —Starred, Publishers Weekly

 

"Jenkins . . . spins the tale nicely." —Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR); First Edition edition (April 29, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374370095
• ISBN-13: 978-0374370091
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,143,773 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I write stories for children and adults. Picture books, middle-grade books, and novels. And a long time ago, personal essays.

I can be reached on the web at www.emilyjenkins.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great stinky dog story (with a useful solution), July 16, 2008

By 

Robert C. Ross (New Jersey) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Skunkdog (Hardcover)

"Dumpling was a dog of enormous enthusiasm, excellent obedience skills -- and very little nose."

As a result, "She didn't care about flowers, or garbage, or any of the other smelly items most dogs enjoy."

Nevertheless her family loved her, and spent as much time as possible with her, in an effort to make up for the lack of canine companionship. Dumpling's inability to smell makes it impossible for her to make canine friends; "the way other dogs went sniffing around one another (you know the way they do) meant nothing at all to her."

Pierre Pratt's drawings of Dumpling capture a loving, lonely little dog, almost heartbreaking at times.

The family moves to the country where Dumpling makes friends of a sort with a skunk. Making friends with that trigger happy skunk makes Dumpling happy, but creates a bit of challenge for her human family.

Their solution: "They bought a lot of tomato juice, and kept the cans in a cupboard beneath the bathroom sink." Text and drawings, this is a charming volume for kids and for adults who love dogs.

It also contains excellent advice for anyone with a dog who can come into contact with skunks. Tomato juice* has worked for us on two occasions, and this charming little book delivers the message for young and old alike. Emily Jenkins also maintains a very interesting Profile here on Amazon, covering her own work and other books she recommends for children.

Robert C. Ross 2008

* V-8 Juice works just as well for de-odorizing dogs and for another reason mentioned in the first Comment, we always have a good supply on hand. B.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, May 7, 2009

By 

Frosty - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Skunkdog (Hardcover)

This book is a fun read. Our dog has been skunked three times this year so the whole family enjoys it. Maybe our dog can't smell either.

4.0 out of 5 stars Skunkdog stinks! (in a good way), May 23, 2011

By 

Robert P. Beveridge "xterminal" (Lakewood, OH) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Skunkdog (Hardcover)

Emily Jenkins, <strong>Skunkdog</strong> (Frances Foster Books, 2008)

Cute story about a dog with no sense of smell who moves to the country and befriends a skunk (and the travails of his family, who finally learn to stock up on tomato juice). It's not the be-all and end-all of Jenkinsiana (I'm not sure she will ever come up with another book as downright darling as <em>Sugar Would Not Eat It</em>, which is on the short shelf of my All-Time Favorite Kids' Books(TM)), but it's gently funny, just tasteless enough to hook the kiddies, and has a warm-and-fuzzy(-and-stinky) feeling when you're finished with it. Quite likable, and recommended. *** 1/2