A Dog Like Jack (Library Binding)

~ Dyanne Disalvo-Ryan (Author), Dyanne Disalvo Ryan (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This realistic picture book about loving and losing a first pet will likely join the ranks of Judith Viorst's The Tenth Good Thing About Barney with its unsentimental, honest approach. "Jack was eight years old when our family adopted him from the animal shelter. That's fifty-six in dog years," begins narrator Mike, pictured in a stroller. As the boy grows older, he and Jack develop rituals?trick-or-treating with themed Halloween costumes (boy as shepherd, dog as sheep), Saturday games of hide-and-seek in the park and the simple joy of a shared ice cream cone ("I'd save the last licks for him," says Mike). They even celebrate the same birthday. Inevitably, when Mike turns eight, Jack turns 91 and can no longer partake of their annual traditions, yet the spreads continue to depict an unbreakable bond between the pair. Jack dies in the final pages, and a swirling portrait depicts mother, father and son in a sorrowful embrace that emits both sadness and comfort. In succeeding pages even nature mourns: leafless trees with outspread limbs curve over mother and son on a walk through the park ("Do people live longer than dogs?" asks the boy). The narration never strikes a false note; even on the last spread, when Mike spies a dog in the park, he harbors mixed emotions. DiSalvo-Ryan (Now We Can Have a Wedding!) captures the essence of the ineffable connection between a child and his pet in her artwork while remaining completely within the child's sensibility in her text. Ages 3-8.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 3-This bibliotherapeutic picture book is a solid entry in the field of titles that deal with the death of a pet. Mike's family adopts Jack from a shelter when he is already eight-years-old ("That's fifty-six in dog years"). As the boy grows older, Jack is always an important part of his life-meeting him after school, accompanying him trick-or-treating, or romping with him in the park. In double-paged watercolor spreads, DiSalvo-Ryan shows the fun of an active dog as well as the gradual decline of the aged animal. When Jack dies, the boy and his parents hug one another and cry together. The usual questions are asked and answered. Mike conveys his lingering sorrow as he sees other healthy dogs after Jack's burial but expresses the conviction that his family will someday adopt another pet even though "there will never be another dog like Jack." In addition to DiSalvo-Ryan's skill at showing a family's life over time, a strength of this book is the epilogue, "Losing a Pet," which offers suggestions for coping with this situation.
Sue Sherif, Fairbanks North Star Borough Public Library, AK
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Library Binding: 32 pages
• Publisher: Holiday House; 1st edition (March 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823413691
• ISBN-13: 978-0823413690
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 10.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,318,091 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sad and true. A good one for helping to heal grief., February 4, 2004

By	beckyjean "beckyjean" (East Granby, CT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Dog Like Jack (Paperback)

This picture book presents the life and death of a family pet truthfully, responsibly, and in a manner that its intended audience can understand.

Jack is adopted from a shelter when he's eight years old. The young narrator points out, "That's fifty-six in dog years." Later on, when the narrator turns 8 himself, he realizes Jack is now 91 in dog years. The concept of "dog years" will be a tough one to explain to very young children, but just hearing that the narrator has a 91-year-old dog will probably be enough to make them understand that this is a dog who's lived a very long life.

And it's a good, happy life as well. Jack is played with, taken trick-or-treating, taken on family vacations complete with romps on the beach -- and he's always shown wearing a collar with ID and rabies vaccination tags, a responsible touch that I appreciated.

The text has a light touch without sugarcoating anything. The pictures of old, tired Jack might be a little upsetting to a sensitive child -- I know sad, tired doggie eyes get me every time.

In general, however, this book's straightforward yet warm approach makes it a good choice for families looking for books that can help them deal with the pain of losing a pet.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Touching story of love and loss, May 24, 2001

By	Chess Heart "paxbear" (Cattauraugus County, NY) - See all my reviews

...Anyone who has lost a pet, especially one as dedicated as a dog like Jack, will be moved and comforted by this tender and sad story. For many young children, the loss of a pet is their first exposure to death and grieving, so stories about what they’re going through are a helpful way of healing into that loss. Jack’s family has a ceremony when they bury his ashes and they always try to remember the good things about Jack. They allow themselves to feel what they feel, whether it be sadness or happy memories about times past. They may go on and get another dog sometime, but for right now, they’re not ready.

This is a beautifully written and illustrated book with soft watercolors and an easily flowing story that is a genuine pleasure to read. While it doesn’t address existential questions like “what happens to us after we die?”, it does explain the grieving process from a child’s perspective and encourages families to talk about their loss as a way of healing. The final page, written by Ms. Kathleen Dunn, chief social worker for the Vetinary Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, helps adults understand the grieving process in children and explains some of the things they may be looking for.

Even if you haven’t had the recent loss of a pet in your life, “A Dog Like Jack” is definitely worth reading and adding to your collection. Thank you, Ms. Disalvo-Ryan, for this wonderful work and the opportunity, however brief, to meet a beautiful dog like Jack.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Warm, witty and fun., April 12, 1999

By A Customer

This book is a treasure. it teaches a lesson and is entertaining at the same time. A wonderful story with beautiful illustrations. It makes me think I should have everything by this author.